Oil Rises on Hopes of Recovery

Crude oil futures continued their gains Wednesday, September 2, after an exceed-expectations withdrawal from crude inventories in the United States and strong activity by American and Chinese factories fueled optimism about the recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic and boosted investors’ appetite for risk.

Brent crude futures rose 45 cents to $ 46.03 a barrel by 05:59 GMT, rising for a third day. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 43 cents to $ 43.19, after gaining 15 cents the previous day.

The American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories in the United States fell by 6.4 million barrels in the week to August 28 to 501.2 million barrels, beating analysts’ expectations for a 1.9 million barrel drop. Gasoline inventories decreased by 5.8 million barrels, more than analysts’ estimates, a decrease of 3 million barrels.