Singapore November 2 2022: Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles, suggesting demand is holding up despite steep interest rate hikes dampening global growth.
Brent crude futures picked up 17 cents, or 0.1%, to $94.82 a barrel at 0014 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $88.63 a barrel.
Both benchmark contracts rose about 2% in the previous session on a weaker U.S. dollar and after an unverified note trending on social media said the Chinese government was going to consider ways to relax COVID rules from March 2023.
In a further positive sign for demand, data on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude stocks fell by about 6.5 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 28, according to market sources.
At the same time, gasoline inventories fell more than expected, with stockpiles down by 2.6 million barrels compared with analysts’ forecasts for a drawdown of 1.4 million barrels.
