Off the wire
• 1st LD: Rebels start evacuating eastern part of Aleppo city  • Greek debt relief will not lead to fourth bailout: Greek FinMin  • Iran says only Iraqis should partake in Mosul operation  • Oil prices jump on big U.S. crude stock drawdown  • Iranian warships enter Baku port on friendly visit  • Drought blamed for rise of human-wildlife conflict in Kenya  • Ethiopia joins African Trade Insurance Agency  • Bulgarian president urges EU to back trade deal with Canada  • Egypt, FAO officials tour rural development project amid WFD celebrations  • French poll shows more approval of ex-economy minister as election approaches  
You are here: 　 Home

Oil prices jump on big U.S. crude stock drawdown

Xinhua, October 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Oil prices posted solid gains Wednesday, with U.S. oil hitting 15-month highs, as official data showed a surprisingly large weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories dropped by 5.2 million barrels to a total of 468.7 barrels in the week through Oct. 14.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the EIA to report a crude build of 2.7 million barrels.

Oil prices also got an added boost after an official from Saudi Arabia said oil producers who are not members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have shown willingness to join the cartel's effort to limit output, according to media reports.

The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery added 1.31 U.S. dollars to settle at 51.60 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery increased 0.99 dollar to close at 52.67 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Endit