(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday after dipping in early Asian
trade, as concerns about global supply tightness outweighed a build
in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories, Trend reports with reference
to Reuters .
Brent crude futures for September, the more actively traded
contract, rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $113.08 a barrel at 0250 GMT.
The less liquidly traded August contract, which expires Thursday,
was at $116.08, down 18 cents, or 0.2%.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 49
cents, or 0.5%, to $110.27.
'Crude oil pushed higher in early trading after a bullish
inventory… The drawdown was driven by refiners increasing their
throughput amid historically high refining margins,' ANZ analysts
said in a note.
Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week to
June 24, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for
a 569,000 barrel drop, U.S. Energy Information Administration data
showed, even as U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles
climbed.
Fuel stocks rose as refiners ramped up activity, operating at
95% of capacity, the highest for this time of year in four
years.
But further disruptions to supply supported prices, the ANZ
analysts said, amid the suspension of Libyan shipments from two key
eastern ports, while Ecuador saw output fall due to ongoing
protests.
Exports of Ecuador's flagship Oriente crude remain suspended
under a force majeure declaration as the spread of anti-government
protests hurts oil output, state-run Petroecuador said on
Wednesday.
However, concerns over slowing economic growth continued to cap
price gains.
'Recently central banks' aggressive rate hikes and a slowdown in
the global economic growth have been pressuring commodity markets.
Bets of more release of the U.S. oil reserve and OPEC's increase of
oil output also retrained the oil market's upside momentum,' CMC
Markets analyst Tina Teng said.
A stronger dollar also capped price gains as it makes oil more
expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ group, which includes allies such as
Russia, began two days of meetings on Wednesday, though sources
said there was little prospect of pumping more oil.
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