Oil prices edged up on Friday as a drawdown in U.S. crude inventory eased concerns about a global supply glut.<\/p>\n
Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.14 percent, at $51.81 per barrel at 8.21 p.m. ET, after closing the previous session down 7 cents at $51.74.<\/p>\n
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 11 cents, or 0.23 percent, at $48.86 a barrel.<\/p>\n
Official data showed crude inventories in the United States, the world’s top oil consumer, fell last week as imports plunged, dropping after nine consecutive increases. [EIA\/S]<\/p>\n
Crude stockpiles fell by 237,000 barrels in the week to March 10, beating analyst expectations for an increase of 3.7 million barrels.<\/p>\n
“Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih continued to express concern about high global inventories,” ANZ said in a note. “However, he did reiterate that the market is currently going in the right direction and fundamentals had improved.”<\/p>\n
If crude inventories remain high, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could extend its oil output cut deal, the Saudi energy minister said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
OPEC and non-OPEC members including Russia reached a landmark agreement last year to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017.<\/p>\n
But OPEC’s monthly report showed global oil inventories increased in January to 278 million barrels above the five-year average.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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