Oil prices decline despite data showing US crude drawdown

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - An unexpected drop in US crude inventories did little to boost oil prices, with investors focused on the outcome of US-Iran nuclear talks on Thursday, which could see more Iranian oil barrels on the market.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $91.19 per barrel at 0615 GMT with a 0.39% fall after closing the previous session at $91.55 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $89.42 per barrel at the same time for a 0.27% drop after it ended the previous session at $89.66 a barrel.

Talks between the US and Iran picked up earlier in the week after a 10-day break. Lifting the sanctions placed on Iran's oil output would allow Iran to pump more oil into the market, increasing global supplies.

US crude oil inventories fell by 4.8 million barrels to 410.4 million barrels, falling short of expectations of a 675,000-barrel build, according to data of the US Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday.

The substantial drop in US crude stocks failed to boost oil prices.

Nonetheless, experts believe Brent could soar to $100 as fuel demand globally is slowly recovering from the effects of Covid-19 and with geopolitical tensions continuing in Eastern Europe over Ukraine.