Oil up as US crude stocks due to fall short of estimate

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices were up on Wednesday as crude inventories in the US are expected to increase less than the market expectation last week.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $20.50 per barrel at 0630 GMT on Wednesday with a 0.79% gain after closing Tuesday at $20.34 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $13.41 a barrel at the same time with an 8.67% jump after ending the previous day at $12.34 per barrel.

According to American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday, US crude oil inventories for week ending April 24 anticipates an increase of 9.98 million barrels but the market expectation was a rise of 10.62 million barrels.

The official weekly change in US crude oil stocks will be released by the US' Energy Information Administration (EIA) later Wednesday.

Due to coronavirus-related weak global oil consumption, crude oil inventories are on the rise around the world, creating a downward pressure on oil prices.