Oil rose for the fourth time in five sessions as easing US inflation weakened the dollar and traders assessed interruptions to supplies.
West Texas Intermediate advanced toward $73 a barrel, after losing 1.6% on Wednesday. US inflation showed signs of moderating in April, giving the Federal Reserve room to pause its most aggressive monetary tightening campaign in a generation. That’s hurting the US currency, aiding commodities.
Crude supplies from Canada have been hit by a spate of wildfires across Alberta. In the Middle East, meanwhile, Iraq said it’s still waiting for Turkey to restart exports via Ceyhan port as a protracted stoppage drags on.
Crude has lost 9% this year as worries over Fed tightening and a potential US recession outweighed the boost from a resurgent China after it abruptly departed from Covid Zero toward the end of 2022. Oil has also found support from a surprise output cut by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, as well as a US plan to refill its strategic crude reserves. Later Thursday, OPEC will issue its monthly supply-and-demand market outlook.
A US report on Wednesday offered a mixed picture. Nationwide commercial crude stockpiles rose nearly 3 million barrels last week, with inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma, hub also gaining. Still, gasoline and distillate stocks contracted, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
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