Oil rose to about $61 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by an industry report showing a drop in US crude inventories, a cut in Libyan exports and an OPEC-led deal to trim output.
The American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday that US crude inventories dropped by 10.2 million barrels last week, more than analysts had forecast. Official inventory figures are due later on Wednesday.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose $1.07 to $61.27. It has still fallen by almost a third since early October. US crude gained 99 cents to $52.64, CNBC reported.
“The oil market is regaining further ground this morning in the wake of a bullish API report,” Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM, the world's leading broker of oil instruments, said, although he sounded a note of caution.
“After all, the fundamental outlook in early 2019 is still plagued by a supply surplus and is therefore not conducive for a sustained price rally.”
Oil has been supported this week by the supply loss in Libya, which declared force majeure on exports from the country’s largest oilfield on Sunday after tribesmen and state security guards seized the facility.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints