Brent crude futures rose to $67.82 a barrel, while WTI rose to $63.62. The price increase is due to a decrease in oil inventories in the US and the cessation of exports from Iraqi Kurdistan.
Oil prices rose for a second straight day on Wednesday after an industry report showed a decline in US crude inventories last week, reinforcing a sense of tightening supply in the market, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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By 04:00 GMT (07:00 Kyiv time), Brent crude futures were up 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $67.82 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.62.
Both benchmark grades rose more than $1 a barrel on Tuesday amid a stalled deal to resume exports from Iraqi Kurdistan, halting pipeline oil flows from the region to Turkey, despite hopes for a deal to resolve the issue, as two key producers sought debt repayment guarantees.
The agreement between Iraq's federal and Kurdish regional governments and oil companies provides for the resumption of oil exports of about 230,000 barrels per day. Pipeline supplies have been suspended since March 2023.
"Prices are expected to remain supported but in a limited range in the near term," said Emril Jamil, senior oil analyst at LSEG.
Ongoing supply disruptions from Russia are supporting prices, but further gains are being constrained by uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, Jamil added.
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Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that US crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate inventories rose, market sources said. According to sources, crude inventories fell by 3.82 million barrels in the week ended September 19, while gasoline inventories fell by 1.05 million barrels and distillate inventories rose by 518,000 barrels. Official US government energy data will be released on Wednesday. It is expected to show an increase in both crude and gasoline inventories and a likely decrease in distillate inventories.
There are other signs of tightening supply: Reuters reports that Chevron, the largest US company, will only be able to export about half of the 240,000 barrels of oil per day it produces jointly with partners in Venezuela.
In July, the company received permission to operate in the sanctioned country, but new rules will mean less heavy, high-sulfur crude produced in Venezuela will flow to the US.
