WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures have seen a notable rebound during trading on Thursday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen over the past several sessions.
After plummeting by 8.0 percent over the four previous sessions, crude for October delivery has jumped $1.01 to 1.4 percent to $72.94 a barrel.
The price of crude oil may have benefitted from bargain hunting following the recent weakness as well as optimism that interest rate cuts in the U.S. and Europe could lead to a boost in demand.
Buying interest may have been generated in reaction to yesterday's report showing a sharp pullback by U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ended August 16th.
The Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories tumbled by 4.6 million barrels last week after rising by 1.4 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to decrease by 2.8 million barrels.
The report said motor gasoline inventories also fell by 1.6 million barrels last week, while distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also slumped by 3.3 million barrels.
Nonetheless, the price of crude oil remains well off its recent highs amid concerns about the outlook for Chinese demand.
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