North Sea Brent crude closed at $87.55, its highest level since the second quarter of the year.
Crude oil prices Brent North Sea crude oil prices hit their highest level since April on Thursday, holding above $87, after data from the previous day showed a decline in U.S. inventories.
Crude oil futures Brent rose 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $87.55 a barrel. U.S. crude futures, meanwhile, were up 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.55 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 28 cents to $84.15 in thin trading due to the Independence Day holiday. USA.
In the previous session, the Brent gained 1.3% to close at $87.34, its highest level since April 30. WTI, meanwhile, hit an 11-week high of $83.88.
These gains came after a bigger-than-expected decline in US crude oil inventories. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a draw of 12.2 million barrels in inventories, well above the 680,000-barrel decline forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.
Concerns about demand were heightened by data showing initial claims for unemployment benefits in USA increased last week, while the number of unemployed also rose.
In contrast, analysts point out that weaker economic data could accelerate interest rate cuts by the Fed. Federal Reserve, which could benefit oil markets.
Source: Ambito
