Brent Crude gained 34 cents to $56.25 a barrel. WTI Crude settled 24 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $52.85 per barrel. “The market was led up by a significant draw in crude oil,” said Andrew Lipow, president Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. Oil prices have recovered from record lows in April due to rising demand from the early months of the pandemic, particularly in China, and huge supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+. “Oil continues consolidating,” said Jeffrey Halley of brokerage OANDA. “The Saudi Arabian cuts, OPEC+ compliance above 85% and an insatiable demand from Asia means that oil has seen its cyclical lows for 2021.”
The number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed 100 million as infections rise in Europe and the Americas, while Asia scrambles to contain fresh outbreaks, weighing on oil demand and prices. China, the second-largest oil consumer, has recently seen a coronavirus resurgence, but official Chinese data showed 75 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the lowest daily rise since Jan. 11.
After the U.S. oil inventory report, the market’s focus shifts to the results of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Analysts expect the Fed to stick to its dovish tone to help speed the economic recovery.
