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 were up slightly 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.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed crude inventories rose only 414,000 barrels last week, much less than the 2.5 million barrel build predicted by 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 settled up 19 cents, or 0.32%, at $59.31 a barrel.

The front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures contract, which expired Thursday, gained 49 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $53.78 a barrel. The more-active second-month WTI benchmark CLc2 was up 45 cents, or 0.8%, at $53.94 a barrel.