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NEW YORK — Oil prices jumped as much as 5% on Wednesday as the dollar fell after the Federal Reserve indicated it preferred a more gradual path to normalizing U.S. interest rates despite being open to the first rate hike in almost a decade.

Benchmark Brent saw choppy moves earlier in the session while U.S. crude prices were down after inventories in the United States hit record highs for a 10th week amid a peak in supplies at the futures’ delivery hub.

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The dollar’s tumble on the Fed’s latest policy statement, however, powered oil higher.

Brent closed up US$2.40, or 4.5%, at US$55.91 a barrel, after rallying more than US$3 after the Fed statement.

U.S. crude settled up US$1.20, or almost 3%, at US$44.66. It had fallen more than US$1 earlier after the government inventory data.

Refined oil products rallied too, keeping place with the run-up in crude. U.S. New York ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and RBOB gasoline rose nearly 5% and 4%, respectively.