Oil climbs over 4% despite rise in U.S. inventories | Reuters

Oil climbs over 4% despite rise in U.S. inventories | Reuters

Oil prices rose more than 4% Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as improved risk appetite provided support despite data showing an unexpected rise in U.S. oil inventories.

Brent crude futures rose $2.88, or 4.2%, to settle at $72.23 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $3.1, or 4.6%, to settle at $70.30 a barrel.

Futures are rebounding after dropping around 7% on Monday, following a deal by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, to boost supply by 400,000 barrels per day from August through December.

The sell-off was exacerbated by fears that a rise in cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in major markets like the United States, Britain and Japan would affect demand.