Crude oil futures settled sharply higher on Wednesday, buoyed by government data showing a significant jump in U.S. crude shipments for the week ended June 23.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $2.00 or about 2.9% at $71.79 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.50 or about 0.66% at $76.75 a barrel a little while ago.
For WTI futures, it was a catch-up to the previous session, as U.S. markets were closed for a holiday. Brent crude futures rose sharply yesterday, as the decision of top oil producers to cut supply offset concerns over slowing manufacturing activity in several countries.
Data from the Weekly Petroleum Status Report of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude exports rose to about 5.4 million barrels per day for the week eded June 23, after seeing a volume of 4.543 million barrels per day a week earlier.
Meanwhile, traders look ahead to weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and EIA.
While API's report is due later today, the EIA will release its inventory data Thursday morning.
