WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday amid expectations of increased demand from the U.S., and a likely delay in OPEC+'s planned output increase from December.
Recent data showing an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories continued to support oil prices.
Slightly easing concerns about the outlook for oil demand from China following the latest data suggesting an expansion in manufacturing activity in the world's second largest economy contributed as well to the rise in oil prices today.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $0.65 or about 0.95% at $69.26 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $73.16 a barrel today, gaining $0.61 or about 0.84%.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. edged down by 0.5 million barrels last week after surging by 5.5 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to jump by 2.3 million barrels.
At 425.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
Gasoline inventories also fell by 2.7 million barrels last week and are about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
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