2020.11.1119:09:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Slightly Higher

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday as data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended November 6, and on optimism about an effective coronavirus vaccine.

However, oil's uptick was just marginal as a report from OPEC showed the agency expects global oil demand will likely fall more than what was previously estimated.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $0.09 or about 0.2% at $41.45 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were up $0.21 at $43.82 a barrel a little while ago.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a major draw in crude oil inventories of 5.1 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a reduction of 913,000 barrels.

The Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum status report will be released on Thursday, due to the closure of the Federal Government on Wednesday, November 11.

OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report that oil demand this year will likely fall by 300,000 barrels per day compared to last month's estimate and it now sees global oil demand at slightly above 90.0 million bpd this year, down by 9.8 million bpd compared to 2019.

The agency cited the recent new lockdowns and curfews in many major European economies, including the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as weaker-than-expected demand in the developed economies in the Americas in the third quarter of 2020, for the downward revision in its oil demand forecast. OPEC has cut its estimate for global oil demand next year as well.