Oil prices came back from previous losses on Wednesday to move higher after U.S. industry data showed a drop in inventories.
Brent gained 26 cents to reach $66.43 U.S. per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained five cents to trade at $60.99.
Data provided Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. inventories decreased by 1.1. million barrels for the week ending Dec. 13.. Analysts had been expecting inventory to decline by two million barrels.
The announcement last week of the so-called Phase One U.S.-China trade deal, which lifted global economic prospects and improved the outlook for energy demand, is also contributing to oil’s move higher.
Information from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories climbed 4.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 13 to 452 million, compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of 1.3 million barrels.
Deeper production cuts coming from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, such as Russia, which make up a group known as OPEC+, continued to offer some support and prevented a further slide in prices.
OPEC+, which has cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since Jan. 1 this year, will make a further cut of 500,000 bpd from Jan. 1 to support the market.
