U.S. Oil Prices Edge Up Amid Decline in Local Crude Inventories

Investing.com – U.S. oil prices inched up on Wednesday after industry data showed a decline in local crude inventories.

 for July delivery were trading at $65.7 a barrel at 12:30AM ET (04:30 GMT), up 0.3%. for August delivery, traded in London, were also up 0.3% at $75.58 per barrel.

Meanwhile, for September delivery were down 0.4% at 464.2 yuan per barrel.

U.S. crude inventories dropped by 2 million barrels, compared with expectations for a fall of 1.8 million barrels, American Petroleum Institute data showed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, gasoline stocks rose by 3.8 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 587,000-barrel gain. Distillate fuels stockpiles fell by 871,000 barrels, compared with expectations for a 784,000-barrel gain.

Looking ahead, traders are waiting for a report by the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration due later in the day.

Sentiment on oil prices remained mostly negative, however, as investors continued to fear OPEC, at its meeting on June 22, could ease production curbs to offset falling supplies in Venezuela and an expected drop in Iran oil exports as U.S. sanctions loom.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that oil demand should decide how OPEC and non-OPEC countries to adjust a current deal on oil output curbs.

In November 2016, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to slash global inventories to the five year-average. The OPEC-led deal was renewed last year through 2018.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.