30.11.202219:06:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Sharply Higher As Crude Inventories Drop

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in crude inventories in the U.S. in the week ended November 25th.

Expectations of increased demand from China, and a weaker dollar contributed as well to the rise in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $2.35 or about 3% at $80.55 a barrel.

However, the contract posted a monthly loss.

Brent crude futures were up $2.75 or 3.25% at $87.00 a barrel a little while ago.

Data released by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude inventories in the U.S. dropped by nearly 13 million barrels last week, the biggest weekly decline since the week ended June 21, 2019.

The EIA data also showed that gasoline stockpiles increased by 2.77 million barrels last week, while distillates stockpiles rose by 3.55 million barrels.

Output from OPEC dropped in November. According to reports, the group pumped 29.01 million barrels per day in the month, down 710,000 barrels per day from October.

Markets now await the upcoming meeting of the OPEC+ (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and their allies), scheduled to take place virtually on Sunday, December 4.