Oil prices rise on US inventory data

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose in early trading today, Feb. 8, after official data showed that US stocks of the black gold rose more than expected last week, in addition to continuing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Brent crude was trading up 0.48% at $79.59 a barrel, at 09:16 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.43% to $74.18 per barrel.

The Energy Information Administration data released on Feb. 7 showed that oil inventories in the US increased by 5.5 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 2, exceeding expectations for a rise of 1.7 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks fell by 3.1 million barrels last week, while distillate stocks fell by about 3.2 million barrels during the same period. The decline in gasoline stocks is an indication of the strength of demand for oil in the US, according to a note issued by ANZ Research.