Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed declines in crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. in the week ended October 28th.
Reports that China is likely to start easing Covid-19 curbs sometime in the near future, and reports saying Iran is likely preparing to attack Saudi Arabia contributed as well to the rise in crude oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $1.63 or about 1.8% at $90.00 a barrel, the highest settlement since October 10.
Brent crude futures were up $1.40 or about 1.5% at $96.05 a barrel a little while ago.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by about 3.1 million barrels last week.
The EIA data also said gasoline inventories dropped by 1.257 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a draw of 1.358 million barrels. Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles rose by 0.427 million barrels last week, as against forecasts for a draw of 0.56 million barrels.
Data released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed that U.S. crude oil stocks fell by about 6.5 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 28.
