Oil rises after U.S. stockpiles fall more than expected

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an increase in U.S. refining activity last week led to a larger-than-expected decline in beryl and oil inventories, but gains were limited by lower supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Beryl.

Brent crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.5%, at $85.08 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $0.69, or 0.85%, at $82.10 a barrel.

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WTI rose as much as $1 during the session after the US Energy Information Administration (IEA) reported that US oil inventories fell 3.4 million barrels to 445.1 million barrels in the week ended July 5, beating analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll. A drop of 1.3 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories fell 2 million barrels to 229.7 million barrels, more than analysts had expected for consumption of 600,000 barrels during the US Fourth of July holiday week.

“More than anything else, the IEA data appears to be the driving force behind higher prices right now,” said Bill Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.

Both oil futures fell in the previous three sessions on signs that the Texas energy sector emerged relatively unscathed from Hurricane Beryl.