14.10.202110:29:00UTC+00Oil Rises After API Data

Oil prices rose on Thursday after data showed a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks.

The uptick was also supported by expectations that soaring natural-gas and coal prices will force power-generation companies and manufacturers to switch to using oil.

Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 92 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $84.11 a barrel after having fallen 0.3 percent on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 84 cents, or 1 percent, at $81.28.

The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported a crude oil inventory build of 5.2 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 8, while analysts expected a build of 140,000 barrels.

At the same time, gasoline inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels and distillate stocks declined by 2.7 million barrels.

U.S. crude oil output will drop 260,000 barrels per day to 11.02 million bpd this year, and then bounce back to 11.73 million bpd in 2022, U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly report released on Wednesday.

OPEC has trimmed its world oil demand growth forecast for 2021 but said surging natural gas prices could boost demand for oil products as end users switch.