Oil prices have risen for a third consecutive day, as the dollar declined following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s less hawkish-than-expected comments on interest rates and as US crude inventories unexpectedly decreased.
At 01:19 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $83.80 a barrel, adding to the 3.3% increase in the previous session.
Futures for US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.27 a barrel, following a 4.1% increase in the prior session.
In early trade, the dollar index was marginally lower at 103.29, extending losses following Powell’s comments on Tuesday, making oil cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.
With less aggressive interest rate hikes in the United States, the market hopes that the world’s largest economy and largest oil consumer would be able to avoid a sharper downturn in economic activity or perhaps a recession, so preventing a decline in oil consumption.
According to market sources, weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute industry association revealed a decline of approximately 2.2 million barrels in crude supplies for the week ending February 3.
This was contrary to the predictions of nine analysts polled by Reuters, who had predicted an increase of 2.5 million barrels.
However, gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased more than anticipated, with gasoline stocks increasing by approximately 5.3 million barrels and distillate stocks, including diesel and heating oil, increasing by around 1.1 million barrels.