Oil prices rise as U.S. crude stocks build less than expected - Reuters

Oil prices rise as U.S. crude stocks build less than expected - Reuters:

Oil prices rose on Thursday after the U.S. government reported a much smaller-than-anticipated rise in crude stocks, but gains were capped by worries about the spread of Coronavirus outside China.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude inventories rose only 414,000 barrels last week, compared with expectations of a 2.5 million barrel rise from analysts in a Reuters poll.

However, scores of new coronavirus cases and a first death in South Korea fanned fears of global pandemic as research suggested it could be more contagious than previously thought.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 was up 46 cents, or 0.8%, at $59.58 a barrel by 12:20 a.m. ET (1720 GMT). 


The front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures contract, which expires Thursday, gained 63 cents, or 1.18%, to $53.92 a barrel. The more-active second-month WTI benchmark CLc2 was up 95 cents, or 0.7%, at $54.44 a barrel.