Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after official data showed a substantial drop in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended January 22.
Despite the sharp drop in inventories, persisting worries about the surge in coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions on movements in several parts across the world continue to cause uncertainty about near term energy demand.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.24 or about 0.5% at $52.85 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.34 at $56.25 a barrel.
According to the data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning, crude inventories in the U.S. fell by 9.9 million barrels last week, dropping to 476.7 million barrels. The numbers beat analysts' expectations for a build of 430,000 barrels.
Distillate stockpiles were down 815,000 barrels in the week against expectations for a draw of 361,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories rose 2.47 million barrels.
The data also said that stockpiles in Cushing, the U.S. storage hub, declined by 2.3 million barrels last week.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a draw in crude oil inventories of 5.3 million barrels in the week to January 22. Analysts had predicted an inventory smaller draw of 430,000 barrels for the week. Gasoline stocks rose by 3.1 million barrels, which was much more than expected.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com
source http://www.mt5.com/forex_news/quickview/2170962/
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