Oil prices are rising on Wednesday on the back of data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showing another decline in US stockpiles.
According to API estimates, oil reserves in the United States fell by 5.215 million barrels in the week ended January 5.
The US Department of Energy will release its own data on energy reserves at 17:30 p.m. A week earlier, the decline in oil reserves in the country amounted to 5.5 million barrels.
The cost of March futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:15 a.m. was $77.9 per barrel, which is $0.31 (0.4%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. On Tuesday, these contracts rose by $1.47 (1.9%) to $77.59 per barrel.
February futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen in price by this time by $0.38 (0.53%) to $72.62 per barrel. As a result of previous trading, the value of these contracts increased by $1.47 (2%) to $72.24 per barrel.
The oil market is also supported by attacks by Yemeni Houthis on ships in the Red Sea. The fact that the incidents continue despite the actions of the US and UK navies in the region increases fears of a protracted conflict, forcing transport companies to look for workarounds to transport goods.
