2020.08.0610:13:00UTC+00Oil Struggles To Hold Five-month High

Oil prices struggled to hold onto five-month highs reached in the previous session on Thursday after the EIA reported a much bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. Benchmark Brent crude edged up 0.1 percent to $45.20 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $41.95. According to the data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, crude inventories in the U.S. dropped by about 7.4 million barrels last week, almost 2.5 times the expected decline. Late on Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released a report showing an inventory draw of 8.587 million barrels in the week ended July 31. Investors remain wary of rising U.S. refined product inventories at a time when downside risks to the global economy are on the rise. To help an economy at risk from rising coronavirus cases, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester called on Congress to provide more fiscal help and said the Fed is ready to do more if needed. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said during an interview with CNN on Wednesday that the economy needs a continuation of the unemployment benefits to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, after holding interest rates and leaving QE targets unchanged, the Bank of England said it does not expect the U.K. economy to exceed its pre-coronavirus levels until the end of 2021. On the stimulus front, White House negotiators said they're no closer to agreeing with Democrats on the size and the scope of the latest stimulus package. "If there's not a deal by Friday, there won't be a deal," Republican Senator Roy Blunt reportedly said.