Oil edges higher with market tightening and Covid-19 curbs easing

Oil crept higher as industry data pointed to a substantial decline in US crude stockpiles and fuel sales in India showed signs of recovering.

Inventories dropped by 8.54 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the American Petroleum Institute’s data. That would take levels to the lowest in over a year if confirmed by government data due later Wednesday. Oil is also being helped higher by positive demand signals from Asia.

Indian gasoline and diesel sales rebounded in the first half of June as the number of new Covid-19 cases in the country slowly started to ease.