Brent crude futures settled at $70.61 a barrel, up $1.42, or 2.05 per cent and U.S. crude futures finished up $1.56 a barrel, or 2.37 per cent, at $67.31
Oil prices jumped more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, driven by fears of lengthy production shutdowns in the U.S. offshore oil patch, which Hurricane Francine was barrelling through on the way to landfall in Louisiana.
Brent crude futures settled at $70.61 a barrel, up $1.42, or 2.05 per cent, on Wednesday. U.S. crude futures finished up $1.56 a barrel, or 2.37 per cent, at $67.31.
Oil prices shook off a rise in crude inventories reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday morning.
Crude inventories increased by 833,000 barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ending September 6, the Energy Information Administration said.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub declined by 1.7 million barrels in the week.
A rather unexciting minor build to crude inventories has been overshadowed by yet one more draw at Cushing, according to Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for Kpler. EIA data show Cushing inventories now drawing nine of the last 10 weeks, down to the lowest level since early November last year.
Both oil benchmarks dipped on Tuesday, with Brent tumbling below $70 to its lowest price since December 2021 and U.S. crude declining to its lowest since May 2023, after OPEC revised down its 2024 oil demand growth forecast for a second time.
Concern about Hurricane Francine disrupting output in the US, the world’s largest producer, also lent support, other analysts said.
Next week I suspect the statistics will be impacted by Hurricane Francine interrupting tanker flow through the Gulf of Mexico, according to Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
