WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday to extend sharp overnight gains after upbeat industry data on oil inventories.
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to $74.23 per barrel, while WTI crude futures were up half a percent at 71.50.
Investors looked ahead to the release of inventory data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day after industry data showed a fall in U.S. crude inventories last week.
The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 3.7 million barrels last week, while gasoline supplies rose by 3.7 million barrels and distillate stocks fell by 849,000 barrels.
Meanwhile, risk-on sentiment remains intact as Omicron worries eased somewhat and U.S. President Biden said it is still possible to reach a deal with Senator Joe Manchin to push the $2 trillion Build Back Better bill through Congress.
There are signs that the U.S. and U.K. were not headed for widespread lockdowns as previously feared.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced more federal vaccination and testing sites to combat the winter surge in Covid-19 infections, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out stricter pandemic rules before Christmas.
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