WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices climbed higher on Friday after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended December 20th. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and expectations of increased demand from China following the recent stimulus measures contributed as well to the rise in oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled at $70.60 a barrel, gaining about 1.4%.
Brent crude futures advanced 1.2% to $74.17 a barrel.
Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories in the U.S. fell by 4.2 million barrels last week, much higher than an expected drop of 1.9 million barrels.
Optimism about demand from China has increased following the World Bank raising its forecast for Chinese economic growth in 2024 and 2025.
Chinese authorities have agreed to issue special treasury bonds worth 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) next year, as Beijing acts to revive the sluggish economy, according to a Reuters report earlier this week.
Official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics today revealed that China's major industrial enterprises saw a smaller decline in profits in November.
Total profits fell by 7.3% year on year to 799.4 billion ($109.5 billion) from October's 10%.
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