Oil rises for second straight day after US inventories fall

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

US crude rose 1.3% to $71.78 a barrel, after opening at $70.83, and hit a low at $70.67, and Brent crude rose 1.4% to $74.54 a barrel, after opening at $74.54, and hit a low at $74.51.

The US crude gained 0.4% yesterday, and Brent crude rose 0.8%, in the first gain in 3 days, as most dollar-denominated commodities rose.

The American Petroleum Institute reported in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 6.1 million barrels during the week ending September 17, while analysts forecast a drop by 3.8 million barrels.

The total US commercial inventories fell to 418.5 million barrels, which is the lowest level since the week ending September 27, 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 3.3 million barrels.