Oil rises 2% on US crude stockpile draw, global manufacturing activity
Oil prices rose nearly 2 per cent on Wednesday following a drawdown in US crude inventories from record highs and a string of positive manufacturing data, but a surge in coronavirus cases tempered gains.
Brent crude rose 80 cents, or 1.9 per cent , to $42.07 a barrel by 12:43 p.m. EDT (16:43 GMT).
US crude rose 59 cents, or 1.5 per cent , to $39.86 a barrel.
US crude inventories fell more than expected, dropping by 7.2 million barrels last week, after hitting all-time highs for three consecutive weeks, Energy Information Administration data showed.
Analysts had expected a 710,000-barrel drop.Much of the drawdown was attributed to refiners ramping up production after reducing runs this spring because of the pandemic, as refinery utilization rates rose by 0.9 percentage point to 75.5 per cent , their highest since early April.
