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Oil prices continued to climb on Thursday on day after posting their first gain in four sessions as traders continued to digest a sharp drop in U.S. inventories, which has helped to offset concerns about the impact of slowing global economic growth.
Price action
-
West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery
CL.1,
+1.58% CL00,
+1.58%
gained 81 cents, or 1%, to $88.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. -
October Brent crude
BRNV22,
+1.83% BRN00,
+1.83% ,
the global benchmark, climbed $1.28, or 1.3%, at $94.93 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. -
Back on Nymex, September gasoline
RBU22,
+1.44%
rose 1% to $2.963 a gallon, while September heating oil
HOU22,
-0.55%
was flat at $3.572. -
September natural gas
NGU22,
+1.27%
rose 0.5% to $9.274 per million British thermal units.
Market drivers
Oil prices rallied on Wednesday after falling to their lowest level since January earlier in the week after the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.1 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 12.
The U.S. supply data appear to be keeping prices elevated on Thursday, one analyst said.
“The surprising and substantial drawdown alongside record crude exports provided a boost just as the price was testing multi-month lows,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. “There are numerous factors at play right now and we may be seeing traders taking a more cautious approach considering how close a decision on the Iran nuclear deal appears to be.”
