Oil prices increase with fall in US crude stocks data

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices increased on Thursday with a larger-than-expected draw in US crude stocks ahead of colder winter months.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $82.34 per barrel as of 09.35 a.m. local time (0635 GMT), up 0.17% from the closing price of $82.2 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $78.55 per barrel at the same time, a 0.33% gain after the previous session closed at $78.29 a barrel.

US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.4% during the week ending Dec. 16, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Inventories fell by around 5.9 million barrels to 418.2 million barrels, against the market expectation of a decrease of around 167,000 million barrels.

A strong decrease in inventory implies a rise in crude demand in the US which support climbing oil prices amid ease of demand concerns.

Meanwhile, a recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in China, the second-largest oil consumer in the world, is expected to cap price increases.

The rise in COVID-19 cases in China is cause for concern, according to the World Health Organization.