Brent Inches Up, WTI Falls

Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, as a larger-than-expected draw in US crude stocks offset worries about rising Covid-19 cases in top oil importer China.
Brent crude futures rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.07 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1 cent to $76.22, Reuters reported.
US crude inventories fell by about 3.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 16, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, while nine analysts polled by Reuters had estimated a drop of 1.7 million barrels in stocks.
Gasoline inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"A larger-than-expected draw in US inventories, coupled with US plans to refill their Strategic Petroleum Reserve have supported oil prices," said Serena Huang, the head of APAC analysis at Vortexa.
"But optimism has been capped by downside pressures from rising global economic headwinds and the recent surge in China's Covid cases," Huang added.
Meanwhile, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in an interview with the Saudi state news agency that OPEC+ members leave politics out of the decision-making process and out of their assessments and forecasting.
Growing worries about a surge in Covid-19 cases in China, as the country begins dismantling its strict zero-Covid policy, kept oil prices from moving higher.