Oil Rises as U.S. Inventory Decline Offsets Angst Over Trade War - Bloomberg

Oil Rises as U.S. Inventory Decline Offsets Angst Over Trade War - Bloomberg:

Oil recovered in New York as signs of tighter supplies in the U.S. offset concerns that the prolonged trade war between America and China will hurt demand.

Futures in New York gained 0.5%, but remain on track for a monthly loss. The American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.27 million barrels last week, suggesting that more comprehensive government data due Thursday may show a larger decline than the 1.36 million-barrel drop expected by analysts.

Oil is headed for its first monthly loss this year after a shattering of the trade truce between the U.S. and China threw the global growth outlook into question. Volatility has risen as traders are torn between trade-war headlines and fears that tensions between America and Iran may lead to conflict in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $59.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:53 a.m. London time, after climbing as much as 89 cents earlier. The contract is down 7.4% so far this month. 


Brent for July settlement was little changed at $69.39 a barrel on London’s ICE Europe Futures after closing down 0.9% on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude was trading at a premium of $10.22 a barrel to WTI.