NEW YORK: Oil prices climbed more than 4 per cent on Wednesday on signs of improving demand and a drawdown in US crude inventories, but gains were capped by worries over the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and weak refining margins.
Brent crude futures were up $1.38, or 3.98 per cent, at $36.03 per barrel at 10:54 a.m. ET (1454 GMT) while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) July crude futures were up $1.38, or 4.32 per cent, at $33.34 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose more than 5 per cent during the session.
The WTI June contract expired on Tuesday at $32.50 a barrel, up 2.1 per cent, avoiding the chaos of last month’s May expiry, when prices sank well below zero, as storage across the US filled rapidly.
