Oil prices rose on Wednesday, February 26, rebounding from a two-month low hit in the previous session after an industry group reported a fall in U.S. crude inventories last week.
As reported by Ukrinform, Reuters reports this.
Brent crude rose 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $73.22 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $69.11.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 640,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 21, market sources said Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Official U.S. inventory data is due later Wednesday.
“If confirmed by the EIA later today, it would be the first fall in US crude inventories since mid-January,” ING strategists said on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimated that U.S. oil inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels last week.
On the supply side, the prospects for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia are improving, ING reports, while the market is also considering the potential implications of a mineral deal between the US and Ukraine.
“This would take us one step closer to the lifting of Russian sanctions, removing much of the supply uncertainty hanging over the market,” ING strategists said.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the United States and Ukraine had agreed on terms of a draft minerals deal that is central to Trump's efforts to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, economic reports from the U.S. and Germany capped gains in oil prices. U.S. data showed consumer activity deteriorated at its sharpest pace in 3-1/2 years in February, and 12-month inflation expectations rose sharply. Meanwhile, Germany's economy shrank in the last three months of 2024 compared with the previous quarter.
Oil prices fell on concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs on China and other trading partners could add to the pressure on the country's economy.
That eased concerns about a near-term oil supply squeeze despite new US sanctions on Iran, ANZ Bank analysts wrote in a note to clients.
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