WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures settled higher on Thursday despite data showing a larger than expected increase in crude inventories in the week ended November 8th, and International Energy Agency's report that said supply will far exceed demand next year. Oil prices were supported by data showing a drop in gasoline stockpiles.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up $0.27 or about 0.4% at $68.70 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.22 or 0.3% at $72.50 a barrel a little while ago.
Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. climbed by 2.1 million barrels last week, matching the increase seen in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to edge up by 1 million barrels.
At 429.7 million barrels, crude oil inventories remain about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
Meanwhile, the report said gasoline inventories tumbled by 4.4 million barrels last week and are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also fell by 1.4 million barrels last week and are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
the International Energy Agency's monthly oil market report released on Thursday predicts a significant discrepancy between global oil demand and supply by 2025.
According to IEA, the world's demand for oil will fall short of supply by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 even if OPEC+ cuts remain in place.
Earlier this week, OPEC cut its oil demand growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025, citing concerns about the Chinese economy.
Currently, OPEC+ is maintaining voluntary production cuts of around 2.2 million barrels per day but analysts predict a significant fall in prices in 2025, if the influential oil cartel unwinds its production cuts.
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