Oil PricesOil Prices Climb Over 1% Despite Reported U.S. Inventory Build
Front-month crude oil futures posted gains in Friday trading, with both major benchmarks rising more than one percent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery settled at $78.18 per barrel, a daily increase of $0.89, according to live price data. The international benchmark, Brent crude, saw a larger gain, rising $1.06 to close at $83.55 per barrel. The price advance came despite bearish fundamental data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). According to a report from Rigzone summarizing the EIA's weekly petroleum status report, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stood at 407.0 million barrels as of July 31. This figure represents a week-on-week increase in stocks. The market's ability to shrug off the reported inventory build suggests other factors are providing support. Geopolitical tensions and broader financial market movements often influence daily price action, potentially offsetting the bearish signal from rising domestic stocks. For...
