WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices advanced on Thursday, continuing to benefit from recent data showing a larger than expected decline in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. Hopes of an interest rate cut in September contributed as well to the rise in oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.60 at $79.23 a barrel.
Brent crude futures gained $0.52 or about 0.63% to $83.27 a barrel.
Concerns about possible supply disruptions due to the tensions in the Middle East supported oil prices a b
Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended May 10th, after falling by 1.4 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to drop by 1.4 million barrels last week.
At 457.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
The EIA also said gasoline inventories edged down by 0.2 million barrels last week and are about 1% below the five-year average for this time of year.
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