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Bloomberg
Crude clung to gains after a larger-than-expected decline in US crude stockpiles heightened the importance of a key OPEC meeting later this week.
Futures rose as much as 1.9 percent in New York on Wednesday. American oil inventories plunged by 5.91 million barrels last week, a bigger withdrawal than any of the 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey expected. The US surplus is shrinking as a divided OPEC prepares to discuss lifting unprecedented production limits two days from now.
The rally in oil was subdued by a 3.28 million-barrel increase in US gasoline stockpiles that confounded expectations for a decline.
“The report was a bit mixed — a stronger decline in oil inventories, but that was partially offset by a bit of a surprise increase in gasoline inventories,†said Rob Thummel, managing director at Tortoise, which handles $16 billion in energy-related assets.
In Vienna, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told reporters that “of course†there will be an agreement.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery, which expired on Wednesday, climbed 95 cents to $66.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more-active August contract added 93 cents to $65.83. Total volume traded was about 14 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent futures for August settlement advanced 11 cents to $75.19 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark traded at a $9.38 premium to WTI for the same month. In the US, refinery utilisation rates are at historically high levels, above the average of 2013-2017.