Oil rises more even as OPEC+ lifts output, U.S. fuel demand slips | Reuters

Oil rises more even as OPEC+ lifts output, U.S. fuel demand slips | Reuters

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains even after OPEC+ producers stuck to an agreed output target rise for February and U.S. fuel inventories surged due to a sliding demand as COVID-19 cases spiked due to the Omicron variant.

Brent crude futures rose $1.27, or 1.6%, to $81.26 a barrel as of 11:11 a.m. EST (1611 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.30, or 1.7%, to $78.29.

U.S. crude stocks dropped by 2.1 million barrels, owing in part to tax incentives for producers to reduce inventories before year-end.

However, gasoline inventories jumped by more than 10 million barrels, and stocks of distillates rose by 4.4 million barrels. Analysts cited soft demand during the last week of 2021 as people hunkered down due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.