Petroleum prices rose in early trade on Wednesday, adding to overnight gains, after industry data showed U.S. oil inventories declined more than expected and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised its outlook for oil demand.
Brent crude futures rose $1.15, or 1.8%, to trade at $64.83 U.S. per barrel, after climbing 39 cents on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced $1.07, or 1.8%, to $61.24 a barrel, adding to Tuesday’s rise of 48 cents.
Price hikes for the "black gold" over the past week have been underpinned by signs of a strong economic recovery in China and the United States, but have been capped by concerns over stalled vaccine rollouts worldwide and soaring COVID-19 infections in India and Brazil.
Nevertheless, OPEC tweaked up its forecast on Tuesday for world oil demand growth this year, now expecting demand to rise by 5.95 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, up by 70,000 bpd from its forecast last month. It is banking on the pandemic to subside and travel curbs to be eased.
Further supporting the market on Wednesday, sources said data from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude stocks fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended April 9, compared with estimates for a decline of about 2.9 million barrels from analysts polled by Reuters.
Traders are waiting to see if official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday matches that view.
