Oil prices rose on Wednesday following reports of a larger-than-anticipated reduction in US crude stockpiles and ongoing concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures increased by 47 cents (0.5 per cent) to $86.71 per barrel at 03:30 GMT, marking a 10-week high. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went up by 43 cents (0.5 per cent) to $83.24 per barrel, near a two-month high achieved earlier this week. Both oil benchmarks had closed lower on Tuesday as fears subsided that Hurricane Beryl would significantly impact Gulf of Mexico production. The US National Hurricane Centre expects Beryl to weaken into a tropical storm by the time it reaches the Gulf later this week. US crude oil inventories fell by 9.163 million barrels for the week ending June 28, according to American Petroleum Institute data. In contrast, gasoline inventories increased by 2.468 million barrels, and distillate stocks decreased by 740,000 barrels. Analysts had predicted a 700,000-barrel draw in crude inventories, a 1.3 million-barrel reduction in gasoline stocks, and a 1.2 million-barrel decline in distillate stocks. "Oil prices were supported by a US crude inventories draw, but gains were limited as some investors were still seeking to take profits from the recent rally to reach the highest levels since April," noted Mitsuru Muraishi, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly data on Wednesday at 14:30 GMT. Meanwhile, US gasoline demand is projected to increase as the summer travel season peaks with the Independence Day holiday. The American Automobile Association predicts holiday travel to rise by 5.2 per cent compared to 2023, with car travel specifically up by 4.8 per cent. Attribution: Reuters
