Brent crude rose to $68.5 per barrel

On Thursday, oil prices are rising, despite data on a significant increase in US oil inventories last week, Interfax reports.

In the week ended March 5, oil inventories increased by 13.8 million barrels, according to data released by the US Department of Energy on Wednesday. A week earlier, the jump in reserves amounted to 21.6 million barrels.

US oil production, which plummeted due to freezing temperatures in Texas last month, has returned to previous levels while refiners have not fully recovered production, said ClipperData analyst Matt Smith.

US gasoline inventories fell 11.9 million barrels last week.

The cost of May futures for Brent oil on the London ICE Futures exchange by 7:10 a.m. Kyiv time on Thursday is $68.5 per barrel, which is $0.6 (0.88%) higher than the price at the close of the previous session. As a result of trading on March 10, these contracts rose by $0.38 (0.6%) to $67.9 per barrel.

The price of futures for WTI crude oil for April in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by this time is $65 per barrel, which is $0.56 (0.87%) higher than the level at the close of the market on Thursday. Following the results of the previous session, the value of these contracts increased by $0.43 (0.7%) up to $64.44 per barrel.

Oil production in the United States, according to the Ministry of Energy, increased by 900 thousand barrels per day (bpd), to 10.9 million bpd.

Since the beginning of this year, oil prices have risen more than 30% amid declining supply, in particular, due to the limitation of production by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian authorities on Wednesday promised to take the necessary measures to protect oil infrastructure after another attack on the export terminal in the port of Ras Tanura. As reported, last Sunday, the export terminal, which is the largest in the world, was subjected to a drone attack blamed on Yemeni Houthis.

Tags: oil, USA, price, petroleum products, gasoline, infrastructure, Saudi Arabia, decline in production, economy

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