Oil Prices Surge on Crude Inventory Decline and OPEC's Production Pause
Oil prices surged on Wednesday, driven by a decline in U.S. crude inventories and expectations of OPEC's production pause. According to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. crude oil inventories fell by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended July 24.
The Brent crude futures rose $2.71, or 3.2%, to $86.80 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $2.26, or 3.4%, to $81.95 a barrel in early trading on Wednesday.
The market was also buoyed by news that OPEC and its allies, the OPEC+, alliance are expected to pause planned oil production increases for three months starting in October. This decision comes after completing the scheduled restoration of output following voluntary production cuts.