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LONDON -- Oil rallied above US$64 on Thursday on bullish U.S. inventory data and after OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna decided, as widely anticipated, to leave the group`s crude output unchanged at 24.85 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil for July delivery was up US$1.16 at US$64.61 a barrel by 1520 GMT after having briefly touched US$64.99, its highest level since mid-November.
London Brent crude rose US$1.33 to US$63.83.
U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refiners ramped up operations, while gasoline inventories dropped for the fifth week, the Energy Information Administration said in weekly data released Thursday.
Commercial crude inventories fell 5.4 million barrels in the week ended May 22, the EIA said, dwarfing the 700,000-barrel decline analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.
"What we are seeing here is the demand side start to improve," said analyst Phil Flynn at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
"Gasoline demand over the Memorial Day weekend is a critical point in judging the health of the U.S. economy. I don`t think the increased demand over the holiday was a fluke."
Read the full article here.
U.S. crude oil for July delivery was up US$1.16 at US$64.61 a barrel by 1520 GMT after having briefly touched US$64.99, its highest level since mid-November.
London Brent crude rose US$1.33 to US$63.83.
U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refiners ramped up operations, while gasoline inventories dropped for the fifth week, the Energy Information Administration said in weekly data released Thursday.
Commercial crude inventories fell 5.4 million barrels in the week ended May 22, the EIA said, dwarfing the 700,000-barrel decline analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.
"What we are seeing here is the demand side start to improve," said analyst Phil Flynn at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
"Gasoline demand over the Memorial Day weekend is a critical point in judging the health of the U.S. economy. I don`t think the increased demand over the holiday was a fluke."
Read the full article here.