Oil settles higher, trade choppy as tight supply vies with rate hike fear
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices settled higher on Thursday after flip flopping during the session, supported by a bigger draw than expected in U.S. crude inventories but pressured by fears that rising interest rates could dent global economic growth.
Brent crude futures rose 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $74.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.86 a barrel.
On Wednesday, both benchmarks gained about 3% after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories dropped by 9.6 million barrels in the week ended June 23, far exceeding the 1.8-million barrel draw analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.
