Brent crude futures for September added 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.41 a barrel and U.S. WTI crude for September rose 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.36 per barrel
Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday, snapping three consecutive sessions of decline, as dropping U.S. crude inventories and growing supply risks from wildfires in Canada boosted prices.
Brent crude futures for September added 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.41 a barrel by 0650 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for September also rose 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.36 per barrel.
WTI had shed 7% over the previous three sessions, while Brent dropped around 5%.
U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories dropped for the fourth consecutive week in the previous week, as per market sources citing the American Petroleum Institute (API), reflecting steady demand in the world’s biggest consumer of oil.
Wildfires in Canada were also supporting prices. The fires have forced some producers to reduce production and were threatening a large amount of supply, according to ING analysts.
Market is nearing oversold territory and we still believe that the fundamentals support prices moving higher from current levels over the remainder of the third quarter on the back of a deficit environment, ING analysts stated in a note.
The API figures showed crude stocks declining by 3.9 million barrels in the week ended July 19, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories dropped by 2.8 million barrels and distillates declined 1.5 million barrels.
That would be the first time crude stocks in the US dropped for four weeks in a row since September 2023.
Official government data on oil inventory is due for release on Wednesday.
Prices also suffered due to continued concern that the economic slowdown in China, the world’s largest crude importer, would reduce global oil demand.
