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Oil settles up near $75; sharp U.S. inventory drop counters virus worry

29 July 2021 08:03 (UTC +04:00)

Oil settled near $75 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude inventories fell to pre-pandemic levels, bringing the market's focus back to tight supplies rather than rising COVID-19 infections, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Brent crude ended the session up 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.74 a barrel, after posting on Tuesday its first decline in six days. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 74 cents, or 1%, at $72.39.

Crude inventories fell by 4.1 million barrels in the week to July 23, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, helped by lower imports and a decline in weekly production. Gasoline stocks also dropped - bringing them largely in line with pre-pandemic levels.

Gasoline product supplied, a measure of demand, has reached a four-week average of 9.5 million barrels per day, the highest levels since October 2019, according to EIA data.