Oil prices went up on Thursday as a report showed that crude inventories at a major U.S. storage hub declined recently, Xinhua reported.
U.S. energy information provider Genscape said on Thursday that crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma dropped 1.1 million barrels since July 27.
Traders have been looking closely to the U.S. stockpiles as the number rose unexpectedly in the week ending July 27, raising concerns that the market is becoming oversupplied.
Analysts said Thursday's data suggests that last week's increase might have been an anomaly and the total U.S. stockpiles will return to normal in the coming weeks. Such expectations supported the oil prices on Thursday.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery gained 1.30 U.S. dollars to settle at 68.96 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery added 1.06 dollars to close at 73.45 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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