NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices steadied on Thursday after industry data showed a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories that revived pandemic-related fuel demand concerns, while U.S. stimulus hopes buoyed prices. FILE PHOTO: Oil pours out of a spout from Edwin Drake’s original 1859 well that launched the modern petroleum industry at the Drake Well Museum and Park in Titusville, Pennsylvania U.S., October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Brent crude futures rose 2 cents to settle at $56.10 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 18 cents to settle at $53.13 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose over the past two days on expectations of massive COVID-19 relief spending under new U.S. President Joe Biden. Late Wednesday, industry data showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose 2.6 million barrels last week, compared with analysts’ forecasts in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel draw. Official inventory data has been delayed by two days to Friday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and Inauguration Day. “We are on pause until we get the inventory report,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “The market is waiting to see what we’re going to see […]
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