SINGAPORE, July 17 (AFP): Oil prices extended gains in Asia Thursday after a bullish US stockpiles report raised hopes of resurgent demand in the world's top crude consumer, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery rose 24 cents to $101.44 while Brent crude for September gained two cents to $107.19 in afternoon trade.
WTI surged $1.25 in New York Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said reserves fell 7.5 million barrels in the week to July 11.
The drop outstripped analysts' expectations of a 2.6 million barrel decline.
"The strong, better-than-expected US stockpiles data is giving significant help to oil prices at the moment," David Lennox, resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, told AFP.
Oil prices up on US demand hopes
FE Team | Published: July 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like