Oil inches up on draw in US crude stockpiles

LONDON: Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday after industry data showed a surprise decline in US crude inventories. Brent crude was up 15 cents at $81.56 a barrel by 07:35 GMT, after gaining $1.15 in the previous three sessions. The global benchmark, which hit a two-week low late last week as equity markets dropped, is trading around $5 below a four-year high of $86.74 reached on October 3. US light crude oil was up 10 cents at $72.02. “Numbers from the American Petroleum Institute surprised the market yesterday, with US crude oil inventories declining by 2.13 million barrels over the last week, compared to expectations of a stock build,” said ING commodities strategist Warren Patterson. A survey ahead of the API data had estimated crude stocks rose about 2.2 million barrels. US gasoline stocks dropped by a larger-than-expected 3.4 million barrels, while distillate fuel stockpiles declined by 246,000 barrels, the API data showed. — Reuters