Oil prices rise on U.S. inventories draw, tight supply
Investing.com — Oil prices rose Thursday, boosted by a large drop in U.S. crude inventories and further signs of supply tightness, outweighing a slowdown in China's manufacturing activity.
By 09:20 ET (13.20 GMT), the U.S. crude futures traded 1.5% higher at $82.83 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.1% to $86.19.
Data released Thursday showed that pace of annual inflation accelerated in the U.S. last month, while jobless claims declined, bolstering predictions that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates on hold at its next policy meeting in September.
This has helped the crude market retain the positive tone the followed the substantial draw in U.S. crude inventories, data showed on Wednesday.
The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. oil stockpiles shrank by a 10.6 million barrels last week, as refiners ramped up production before the Labor Day weekend, which usually signals peak U.S. summer demand.
The large draw leaves total crude oil inventories at just under 423 million barrels — the lowest level since December 2022.
Helping the market has also been indications that the global supply situation will remain tight as the year progresses.
Traders are looking to see if Saudi Arabia extends its voluntary oil production cut of 1 million barrels per day into October, adding to cuts put in place by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a combination known as OPEC+.
“Our expectation is that Saudi Arabia will extend this cut through into October,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “There are clearly still some broader demand concerns and returning this supply to the market could see Brent back below US$80/bbl — something the Saudis would prefer
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