Crude Prices Rise

Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday after industry data showed a surprise decline in US crude inventories and tension over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist stoked supply worries.
Brent crude was up 40 cents at $81.81 a barrel, after gaining $1.15 in the previous three sessions. The global benchmark, which hit a two-week low last week as equity markets dropped, is trading around $5 below a four-year high of $86.74 reached on Oct. 3, CNBC reported. 
US light crude oil was up 30 cents at $72.22. 
“Numbers from the American Petroleum Institute surprised the market on Tuesday, with US crude oil inventories declining by 2.13 million barrels over the last week, compared to expectations of a stock build,” said ING commodities strategist Warren Patterson. 
A Reuters survey ahead of the API data had estimated crude stocks rose about 2.2 million barrels. 
US gasoline stocks dropped by a larger-than-expected 3.4 million barrels, while distillate fuel stockpiles declined by a smaller-than-expected 246,000 barrels, the API data showed. 
Inventory data from the US Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is due on Wednesday. 
Also underpinning sentiment is the scandal over the assumed murder of prominent Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared two weeks ago after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.