Crude oil prices rise on concerns over tightening supply
Oil prices gained on Wednesday after U.S. oil and fuel supplies tightened and as a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts. Brent crude futures rose 86 cents, or 1.1%, to $77.70 a barrel by 0007 GMT, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained 88 cents, or 1.2%, to $73.79 a barrel.
Industry data late Tuesday showed U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell sharply. Crude inventories fell by about 6.8 million barrels in the week ended May 19, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories dropped by about 6.4 million, while distillate inventories declined by about 1.8 million.
