Oil prices rally on inventory drawdown, casting Omicron caution to the wind
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. inventories, shaking off worries about the likely hit to economic activity from the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Brent crude futures ended the day up $1.31, or 1.8%, to $75.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $72.76 a barrel, up $1.64, or 2.3%.
U.S. inventories fell more than expected, with crude stocks down by 4.7 million barrels, though that is in part due to year-end tax considerations that encourage companies not to store crude barrels.
“We saw a drop in production, we saw inventories and crude fall, so that’s giving the market a supportive outlook,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
