Following significant decreases in fuel supplies and a less-than-expected increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, oil prices increased little on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices increased by 18 cents to $79.31 a barrel, while Brent crude futures increased by 15 cents to $83.11 a barrel.
The benchmarks gained almost 1% on Wednesday as a result of the sixth consecutive week of rising crude stockpiles, which increased by 1.4 million barrels, or roughly two-thirds of the 2.1 million-barrel increase that analysts had predicted in a Reuters poll. The EIA statistics also revealed that petrol and distillate stockpiles decreased more than anticipated.
According to a Reuters survey of foreign exchange strategists, a strong U.S. dollar will sustain the status quo shortly as markets prepare for the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate drop will be postponed until the second half of this year. Although the U.S. central bank still plans to lower its benchmark interest rate this year, the Fed Chair stated that further progress on inflation “is not assured.”
