By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent oil rose on Thursday, withstanding pressure from concerns about economic growth, while a sharp fall in U.S. inventories boosted West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures.
International benchmark Brent crude went up as high as $61 a barrel and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) went as high as almost $57 a barrel and as at the time of this report (10 p.m. Nigerian Time), Brent was trading at $60.49 indicating a rise of 0.93 percent while WTI was trading at $56.61 indicating a 1.49 percent increase.
In addition, the OPEC Basket also rose higher than $60 on Thursday as it gained $1.18 equivalent to a $2 rise to trade at $60.16.
The rise in oil prices has been linked to some developments that is ongoing across the world major economies. The U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said that American crude stocks dropped last week by 10 million barrels, while gasoline and distillate stocks each fell by 2.1 million barrels.
On Tuesday, industry body API said U.S. crude stocks had fallen by 11.1 million barrels last week. U.S. weekly crude production rose 200,000 barrels per day to a new record at 12.5 million bpd in the week to Aug. 23, the EIA said.
Concerns about a slowdown in economic growth due to the trade war raging between the United States and China, the world’s biggest oil consumers, along with the potential hit to oil demand, are keeping prices in check.
China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday China and the United States were discussing the next round of face-to-face trade talks scheduled for September, but hopes for progress hinged on whether Washington could create favorable conditions.
Concerns about the global economy have watered down the impact of oil production cuts that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers have been exercising over the past two and half years.
