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Brent rallies to early August highs
AI Summary
- Oil prices rose to a seven-week high after unexpected decline in U.S. crude inventories
- Brent crude futures for November delivery rose 2.5% to $69.31 a barrel, highest since early August
- Ukraine attacks on Russian oil facilities and Novorossiysk state of emergency declared due to strikes also impacted oil prices
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, hitting a seven-week high, after data showed an unexpected decline in U.S. crude inventories, contrary to market forecasts.
The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 0.6 million barrels to 414.8 million barrels last week, while expectations had pointed to an increase of about 0.8 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories dropped by 1.1 million barrels to 216.6 million barrels, while distillate stocks — which include heating oil and diesel — declined by 1.7 million barrels to 123.0 million barrels.
Separately, news agencies reported that Ukraine carried out attacks on oil facilities in Russia’s Volgograd region, while the city of Novorossiysk — home to key ports for oil and grain exports — declared a state of emergency due to the strikes.
At settlement, Brent crude futures for November delivery rose 2.5%, or $1.68, to $69.31 a barrel, the highest since early August. U.S. WTI crude futures for November delivery also gained 2.5%, or $1.58, to close at $64.99 a barrel, marking the highest close since September 2.
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