Oil prices climbed on Wednesday toward last week’s seven-year highs as a draw in U.S. crude stocks confirmed strong demand and tight supplies, but investors remain cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting later in the day.
Brent crude rose 11 cents to $89 a barrel after easing 10 cents on Tuesday while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 14 cents at $88 a barrel, having gained 5 cents the previous day.
However, tight global supplies and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have boosted oil prices by about 15% so far this year.
While crude benchmarks hit their highest prices since October 2014, with Brent touching $91 and U.S. crude hitting $88.
U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 28, against analysts’ estimate of an increase of 1.5 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by 5.8 million barrels, above analysts’ expectations for a 1.6 million barrel build.