Oil prices saw a slight rise on Thursday after dropping to low levels in recent months, with gains driven by expectations of delaying production increases from the OPEC+ alliance and a sharp decline in U.S. crude inventories.
According to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. crude oil inventories dropped by 7.431 million barrels last week, significantly surpassing analysts’ expectations, which had forecasted a decline of about 1 million barrels.
In market details, as of 0810 GMT, Brent crude for November rose by 42 cents, or 0.6%, reaching $73.12 a barrel, after hitting its lowest point since December during Wednesday’s session. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October increased by 37 cents, or 0.5%, to reach $69.57 a barrel.
Additionally, further support came from reports indicating that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, are considering delaying the planned production increases set for October.
OPEC+ had initially planned to raise production by 180,000 barrels per day starting in October, as part of a broader strategy to reverse the recent production cut of 2.2 million barrels per day. However, challenges facing the markets, such as weak demand in China and the resolution of the oil export dispute in Libya, prompted the alliance to reassess its strategy.
