Oil prices extend gains after drop in US stockpiles
TOKYO: Crude oil prices rose on Thursday to extend gains from the previous session after official government data showed US stockpiles had eased from record highs.
Prices surged on Wednesday after a slew of market reports and official data offered some hope that a near three-year global glut in oil is coming to an end, albeit more slowly than many have anticipated.
The market was also buoyed after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in line with expectations but did not signal any pick-up in the pace of further rises.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 29 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $49.15 a barrel by 05:41 GMT, having surged 2.4 per cent in the previous session while posting its first increase in eight days. Brent futures climbed 34 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $52.15. They had their first increase in seven days on Wednesday, gaining 1.7 per cent.
The benchmarks have bounced off their lowest levels since the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) agreed to cut output at the end of last year, with an initial price surge having evaporated as stockpiles remained high.
Global oil inventories rose for the first time in six months in January, despite the Opec agreement, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil report on Wednesday.