Oil prices keep overnight gains as demand hopes offset U.S. stock build
SINGAPORE – Oil prices held on to most of their gains from the previous session on Thursday, as signs of stronger demand helped offset an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories.
Brent crude slipped 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $72.02 a barrel at 0133 GMT, after rising 4.2% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.12 a barrel, after rising 4.6% on Wednesday.
“The market shrugged off a rise in (U.S.) commercial inventories … with most of the gains occurring on the West Coast, a distribution system that is separate from the rest of the country,” analysts from ANZ Bank said in a note.
