Crude Oil trades lower after API data

                    Crude oil futures traded modestly lower in the early part of Wednesday’s Asian although inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a larger-than-expected decline. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for October delivery fell 0.25% to USD107.12 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday. The October contract settled down 1.94% at USD107.39 per barrel on Tuesday. 

Syria's reported decision give up control of its chemical weapons stockpile sent prices falling on Monday as fears subsided the U.S. would attack and draw the broader Middle East into conflict and threaten global crude supply.

While the Obama administration has pressed its case for attack on the grounds Damascus used chemical weapons in its civil war, polls show most Americans do not favor attacking Syria, which helped push oil prices lower as well. 

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. oil inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels last week. Analysts expected a draw-down of 2 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles increased by 195,000 barrels while distillate supplies climbed by 807,000 barrels. 

Analysts expected gasoline supplies to decline by 1 million barrels and expected a climb of 800,000 barrels in distillates. The more widely followed numbers from the U.S. Department of Energy are due out later Wednesday. 

Oil traders continued to gloss over positive data out of China. On Tuesday, Chinese industrial production rose 10.4% in August, beating expectations for a 9.9% increase and accelerating from a 9.7% gain in July. The country’s is the world’s second-largest oil consumer. 

Elsewhere, Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.13% to USD111.30 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.