Oil prices rose on Wednesday, reinforced by a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles and the continued outage of the North Sea Forties pipeline system.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were up 68 cents at $63.91 U.S. a barrel before noon ET on Wednesday
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up one cent to $57.57 U.S. a barrel mid-morning Wednesday.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed crude inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels as refineries hiked output in the week to Dec. 15, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 3.8 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks rose by 1.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in an economist poll for a 1.9-million-barrel gain. EIA data also showed distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, were up by 769,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 870,000-barrel drop.
Moreover, Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday it forecasts global oil inventories will have rebalanced by mid-2018, "leading to a gradual exit from the cuts and increases in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia production through second half 2018."
The bank added that the ramp-up in OPEC production and rising non-OPEC output "will leave risks skewed to lower prices" in the second half of next year.
OPEC and 10 other producers led by Russia extended an agreement to cut oil production but some 1.8 million bpd on November 30 until the end of next year.
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