Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, after a two-day decline. This increase was driven by a larger-than-expected decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories, which provided support to the market and encouraged investors, who are still following developments in Venezuela, to buy futures contracts.
Brent crude futures rose by 38 cents, or 0.6%, to “$60.34 a barrel” by “01:04 GMT”, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude reached “$56.36 a barrel”, up 37 cents, or “0.7%”.
It is noteworthy that both benchmark crudes fell by more than “1%” for the second day in a row on Wednesday, amid traders’ expectations of abundant global supplies this year. Analysts at “Morgan Stanley” expect the surplus to reach “three million barrels per day in the first half of 2026”.
