WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices traded mixed on Thursday after posting strong gains in the previous session as record-high U.S. crude exports pointed to healthy global oil demand.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were marginally higher at $93.85 barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.1 percent at $87.79.
Prices jumped over 3 percent on Wednesday after EIA data showed a drop in gasoline stockpiles.
U.S. crude inventories rose more than expected last week, but a large percentage of the increase came from a drawdown of strategic reserves.
U.S. crude exports surging to a record-high 5.1 million barrels a day suggested resilience in global demand despite rising inflation and interest rates.
Meanwhile, investors fretted over Chinese fuel demand in the wake of reports suggesting that Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest are tightening curbs against growing COVID outbreaks.
Data showed today that profits at China's industrial firms fell at a faster clip in the January-September period as a result of fresh COVID-19 curbs and a worsening property crisis. China is the world's biggest energy consumer.
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