Oil hits 6-week high after US inventories drop

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, for the third day in a row, and hit a 6-week high, after the release of preliminary data on US crude inventories that showed a drop, and ahead of the EIA's weekly report.

US crude rose 0.75% to the highest since August 3 at $71.27 a barrel, after opening at $70.74, and hit a low at $70.68, and Brent crude rose 0.7% to the highest since August 2 at $74.38 a barrel, after opening at $73.88, and hit a low at $73.80.

The US crude gained 0.2% yesterday, and Brent crude rose 0.3%, in the third straight gain, due to concerns about US supplies.

The American Petroleum Institute reported in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 5.4 million barrels during the week ending September 10, while analysts forecast a drop by 3.5 million barrels.

The total US commercial inventories fell to 430 million barrels, which is the lowest level since the week ending October 4, 2019, in a positive sign of the US domestic demand.

The US Energy Information Administration's official data will be released later today, amid forecasts for inventories to drop by 3.6 million barrels.