CNA – Oil prices rose in Asian trading hours yesterday, with global benchmark Brent set for its first weekly increase in three weeks on signs of improving global demand and slowing inflation in top oil consumer the United States (US).
Brent crude oil prices rose 21 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to USD83.48 a barrel by 0018 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to USD79.41 a barrel.
Brent futures are set to rise about one per cent on a weekly basis, and WTI futures are set to gain 1.4 per cent.
Recent declines in oil and refined products inventories at major global trading hubs have created optimism over oil demand growth, reversing a trend of rising stockpiles that had weighed heavily on crude oil prices in prior weeks. Through Thursday, Brent crude futures were down around 10 per cent from this year’s peak of USD92.18 a barrel on April 12.
US oil and fuel inventories fell last week, while Singapore’s middle distillate fuel stocks dropped to a near three-month low this week. In Europe’s Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp trading hub, gasoline stocks were down 7.5 per cent in the week to Thursday, data from consultancy Insights Global showed.
Recent economic indicators from the US have fed into the optimism over global demand. US consumer prices rose less than expected in April.
