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Oil advances on US inventory data and postponement of OPEC production increase By Investing.com

Oil advances on US inventory data and postponement of OPEC production increase By Investing.com
Oil advances on US inventory data and postponement of OPEC production increase By Investing.com

Investing.com — Oil prices rose in Asian trading on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session after an unexpected reduction in U.S. inventories – particularly a sharp drop in gasoline stocks – helped spur some confidence in demand.

Oil markets were also encouraged by a report that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will delay a planned increase in production.

Markets took little notice of mixed Purchasing Managers' Index data from major oil importer China, which showed business activity barely managed to grow in October.

The rose 0.2% to $72.72 per barrel, while the rose 0.2% to $68.80 per barrel as of 03:49 ET (07:49 GMT).

U.S. Inventories Shrink, Gasoline Stocks See Sharp Drop

Government data showed on Wednesday that U.S. inventories fell by 0.5 million barrels (mb) over the past week, compared with expectations for a 1.5 mb build.

Gasoline stocks in particular were sharply reduced, to 2.7 million barrels, compared to estimates for an increase of 0.6 million barrels.

The figures raised hopes that oil markets in the world's largest fuel consumer were tight and fuel demand remained robust.

OPEC+ could delay December output hike – Reuters

Reuters reported on Wednesday that OPEC+ could delay plans to increase production from December by a month or more, amid concerns about weak demand and tight supply.

The cartel had postponed its plan to increase production by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) from October to December due to falling oil prices, amid concerns about slowing growth in China and the easing fears of war in the Middle East weighed on oil markets.

The cartel also downgraded its demand growth outlook for 2024 and 2025, citing weakness in China.

OPEC+ has cut production by around 5.86 million bpd over the past two years to support oil prices, and has indicated it plans to increase production starting at the end of the year 2024.

The Reuters report helped lift oil prices on Wednesday, although they still suffered significant losses earlier in the week. Brent was also trading a few dollars above its 2024 low, which it hit in September.

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