An archival photo of water tanks used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale oil in a field operated by the American company “Hess” in North Dakota.
SINGAPORE – Archyde.com: Oil rose more than $2 a barrel on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, supported by improved risk appetite among investors, while lower US crude inventories and a recovery in US gasoline demand supported prices.
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, for September delivery rose $2.09, or 1.96 percent, to $108.71 a barrel by 1201 GMT. Crude rose $2.22 a barrel yesterday.
The US benchmark (West Texas Intermediate) rose $2.36, or 2.43 percent, to $99.62 a barrel, following increasing by $2.28 a barrel in the previous session.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points yesterday, in line with expectations to control inflation, while the dollar fell on hopes of a later, slower rate hike.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday that crude oil inventories in the United States fell more than expected last week, driven by a jump in exports that brought them to an all-time high, due to a significant discount in US crude prices compared to the global benchmark Brent crude. .
The government said that crude stocks fell 4.5 million barrels in the week ending July 22 to 422.1 million barrels, while analysts polled by Archyde.com had expected a drop of only one million barrels.
This decline is due in large part to a jump in crude exports, which hit a record level of 4.5 million barrels per day last week.
US oil production rose to 12.1 million barrels per day following two weeks of declines, up 200,000 barrels per day, the largest weekly increase since December 2021.
Crude stocks at the delivery hub in Cushing rose by 751,000 barrels last week.
And US refineries’ consumption of crude decreased by 292,000 barrels per day, with operating rates declining by 1.5 percentage points.
Gasoline stocks fell 3.3 million barrels over the past week to 225.1 million barrels, while analysts had expected a decline of 0.9 million barrels.
Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 784,000 barrels over the course of the week to 111.7 million barrels.
The Energy Information Administration said that net imports of US crude oil last week fell by 1.14 million barrels per day to 1.62 million barrels per day.
