Oil rises for the third straight day

Oil prices continued to rise as the US market opened on Thursday, extending gains for the third straight day, after data showed a drop in the US crude inventories, in addition to hopes about strong global demand after the International Monetary Fund raise its forecasts for the global growth at the highest pace since the 1970s.

US crude rose 0.5% to $59.80 a barrel, after opening at $59.48, and hit a low at $59.08, and Brent crude rose 0.5% to $63.32 a barrel, after opening at $63.01, and hit a low of $62.54.

US crude gained 0.6% yesterday, and Brent crude futures rose 0.4%, after the EIA weekly report.

The Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude inventories fell 3.5 million barrels to 498.3 million barrels during the week ending April 2, while analysts forecasts a drop by 2 million barrels.

The US production fell 200K barrels last week, with a total at 10.9 million barrels per day.

The International Monetary Fund revealed its projections for the global GDP, which is expected to grow by 6% at the best rate since the 1970s, from the previous forecast of 5.5%, thanks to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.