Oil prices edge higher as U.S. inventory drop counters demand concerns tied to COVID-19 - Reuters

Oil prices edge higher as U.S. inventory drop counters demand concerns tied to COVID-19 - Reuters:

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories was enough to offset concerns about U.S. fuel demand amid record increases in COVID-19 infections in some states.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up by 18 cents, or 0.4%, at $43.40 a barrel by 0644 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 gained 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $41.16 a barrel.

Inventories of crude oil in the United States dropped by 6.8 million barrels last week to 531 million barrels, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.

Analysts’ expectations were for an increase of 357,000 barrels. U.S. government data is due Wednesday.