Crude prices up as US inventories fall 9th straight week

NEW YORK (AA) – Weekly crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined for the ninth week in a row, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released Wednesday.

Commercial stocks fell 2.3 million barrels, or 0.4 percent, to reach 519.5 million barrels for the week ending July 15.

Stocks last rose in the middle of May, according to the EIA.

"Higher demand from refineries helped to pull down crude stocks last week," said London-based Capital Economics' U.S. Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

"The big driver behind the fall in inventories was a sharp rebound in the amount of crude oil used by refineries," report author and commodities economist Thomas Pugh noted, adding that "refinery inputs are at near record levels."

Refineries are the biggest consumers of crude as they increase overall demand by withdrawing from inventories to produce petroleum products, such as gasoline.

"The market focused on strong demand for gasoline and high levels of consumption by refiners," he said, referring to the rise in oil prices.

Analysts projected a 2.1-million-barrel decrease in inventories.

After the release of the data oil prices soared from negative to positive territory.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 3.2 percent to $46.08 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.3 percent to $47.49.