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Oil prices surge after big U.S. crude inventory draw

Xinhua, September 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Oil prices posted solid gains Thursday after official data showed a surprisingly large drawdown in U.S. oil stockpiles.

U.S. crude inventories dropped 14.5 million barrels last week to 511.6 million barrels, the biggest weekly drop in stockpiles since January 1999, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report Thursday.

Tropical Storm Hermine, which threatened the Gulf Coast refining region last week, scuttled some U.S. oil production and limited imports and shipping, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers such as Russia are expected to discuss an output freeze at informal talks in Algeria on Sept. 26-28.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery jumped 2.12 U.S. dollars to settle at 47.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery soared 2.01 dollars to close at 49.99 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem