Oil prices up with tight global supply

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil increased on Thursday, pushed by a larger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories and the impending EU ban on Russian oil, fueling fears of tight supply.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $111.47 per barrel at 0600 GMT for a 0.31% increase after closing the previous session at $111.12 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $110.91 per barrel at the same time for a 0.53% gain after the previous session closed at $110.33 a barrel.

Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on Wednesday showed that US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1 million barrels to 419.8 million barrels during the week ending May 20, against the market expectation of a draw of 690,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, the EU is continuing its efforts to finalize a ban on Russian crude, with European Council President Charles Michel declaring the possibility of an agreement before the next meeting on May 30.

However, ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns in China, the world's biggest oil importer, are capping oil price increases.