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Oil prices rise as US crude stockpiles shrink the most since mid-June - YAHOO FINANCE
Oil (BZ=F, CL=F)
Oil prices continued to gain on Thursday, up 0.9% at the time of writing, after US crude stockpiles shrank the most since mid-June.
Brent (BZ=F) traded around $67 a barrel after climbing 1.6% on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was at $63.
The volumes of crude held in US storage tanks fell by 6 million barrels last week. Gasoline stockpiles also declined for a fifth straight week.
It comes as oil is still down more than 10% year-to-date amid concerns about the fallout from US trade policies and as Opec+ returns idled production. Traders are also keeping a focus on progress toward a ceasefire for the war in Ukraine.
Read more: Stocks lack direction as UK borrowing comes in lower than expected in July
Moscow has largely kept its oil flowing despite an array of sanctions, with a large chunk going to India. However, the South Asian nation has been singled out for criticism by the US administration for buying Russia crude, with US president Donald Trump threatening New Delhi with economic penalties.
John Driscoll, director and founder of Singapore-based consultant JTD Energy Services Pte, said: “In the long run, you got to look at the fundamentals and expect that we’re going to be tumbling toward the downside up to at least the middle part of next year."
