Has stepped up Oil prices, today, Thursday, After falling in early Asian trade, fears of tight supplies outweighed the impact of rising US fuel and distillate inventories.
Brent crude futures for September rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $113.08 a barrel. The August contract, which expires on Thursday, was traded for $116.08 a barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.2%.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $110.27 a barrel.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration revealed that crude stocks fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending June 24, far exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Archyde.com poll for a decline of 569,000 barrels, while fuel and distillate stocks rose.
But fears of slowing economic growth continued to limit the price hike.
At the same time, the OPEC Plus bloc, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and independent producers, including Russia, began two-day meetings on Wednesday, although sources said that there were little expectations of pumping more oil.