Oil rises as concerns over trade war ease

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose on Thursday as markets assessed a drop in US inventories and signs of easing trade tensions.

Brent crude futures for September delivery climbed 0.35%, or 25 cents, to $68.77 a barrel as of 08:06 am KSA time.

WTI crude futures for August delivery also rose 0.5%, or 34 cents, to $66.72 a barrel.

Trump said the US is very close to reaching a trade agreement with India and that a deal with Europe is also possible, though he noted it is too early to say whether an agreement with Canada can be reached, Reuters reported.

Data released by the US Energy Information Administration on July 16 showed that crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week — a sharper decline compared to analyst expectations of a 552,000-barrel decrease.