Oil prices retreat as inventories climb

Oil prices retreated Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories added more than expected last week.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday U.S. crude stockpiles increased 8.9 million barrels to 406.7 million for the week ended Jan. 23, 49.1 million barrels more than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the contract, gained 2 million barrels to 38.8 million barrels in the same period, said the EIA, the Energy Department's statistical arm.

U.S. crude production increased 30,000 to 9.213 million last week, the highest level since 1983, according to the EIA data.

The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve announced it would keep "patient" in raising interest rates and stressed that U.S. economy has been expanding solidly.

A stronger greenback makes the dollar-priced crude more expensive and less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 1.78 U.S. dollars to settle at 44.45 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery moved down 1.13 dollars to close at 48.47 dollars a barrel.