Oil prices surged after U.S. stockpile data Wednesday showed another surprise weekly decline as coronavirus lockdown restrictions continue to ease across the country.
The Energy Information Administration reported crude inventories dropped by 5 million barrels last week. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts saw an increase of by 2.4 million barrels.
Last week, EIA stunned markets by reporting a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories, the first since January.
U.S. crude production fell to 11.5 million barrels per day from 11.6 million bpd in the prior week, EIA said Wednesday. That’s down from a high of 13.1 million in March and the marked the seventh consecutive decrease.
Early signs were more bearish for oil prices. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute saw a 4.8 million-barrel increase in U.S. crude supplies and a 651,000-barrel decrease in gasoline stockpiles.
Oil Prices, Oil Stocks
U.S. crude futures jumped 4.5% to $33.41 per barrel, in the first day for July-delivery contracts taking over as the front month. Brent oil prices climbed 4% to $36.07 per barrel.
West Texas Intermediate contracts for June delivery expired Tuesday without a repeat of May’s shocking drop into negative territory.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares rallied 3% on the stock market today, as oil prices continued to rise. Chevron (CVX) rose 2.6%. Among top shale oil stocks, EOG Resources (EOG) climbed 4.8%, and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) added 3%.
Originally published on finance.yahoo.com/news
