Oil prices steadied on Wednesday, buoyed by industry data revealing an unexpected decline in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories. This comes after two consecutive sessions of losses amid easing tensions in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose by 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.33 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 22 cents, also up 0.3%, to $67.43 per barrel.
According to sources citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. crude oil and fuel stocks decreased last week. Specifically, crude inventories fell by 573,000 barrels for the week ending October 25, alongside a 282,000-barrel reduction in gasoline stocks and a 1.46 million-barrel decline in distillate stocks.
This data was contrary to the expectations of nine analysts surveyed by Reuters, who had predicted a 2.2 million-barrel increase in crude inventories. Official U.S. government data is set to be released later on Wednesday.
The API report helped reverse the downward trend in oil prices, which had seen a combined drop of more than 6% over the previous two sessions. Prices had fallen on Tuesday following an Axios report indicating that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would soon convene key ministers and military leaders to discuss a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
On Monday, prices dropped around 6% after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran did not target the country’s oil infrastructure, further impacting market sentiment.
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