Oil prices crept up on Thursday, supported by a surprise decline of US crude inventories, but gains were capped by worries that a potential second wave of the coronavirus pandemic might trigger fresh lockdowns and slam fuel demand once again.
Brent crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.2%, to $29.25 per barrel at 0045 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $25.37 a barrel.
Crude stocks in the United States had billowed since mid-January on falling fuel demand around the world as a result of the pandemic.
But U.S. crude inventories fell by 745,000 barrels to 531.5 million barrels in the week to May 8, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, comforting the market after analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 4.1 million barrel increase.
