Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles reinforced expectations of improving demand ahead of the peak summer driving season, offsetting worries that a possible return of Iranian supply would cause a glut.
Brent settled up 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $68.87 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $66.21 a barrel, as reported by Reuters.
Read alsoNaftogaz changes team countering Nord Stream 2 launchBoth benchmarks pared losses after government data showed U.S. crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub fell last week to the lowest since March 2020. Refiners ramped up utilization rates to pre-pandemic levels.
OPEC+ is bringing back 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production through July, easing cuts to 5.8 million bpd. Their next meeting is set for June 1.
