Price movements
Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to settle at $72.69 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $69.15 a barrel.
This is the lowest close for Brent crude since June 2023 for the second day in a row and the lowest close for WTI crude since December 2023 for the third day in a row.
The US Energy Information Administration said US crude oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels during the week ending August 30.
That was much larger than the 1 million-barrel decline analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, but was in line with the 7.4 million-barrel draw reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday.
Oil markets received additional support after the OPEC+ alliance said on Thursday it had agreed to postpone an oil production increase scheduled for October by two months, and that it could suspend the increases for a longer period or roll them back if necessary.
Analysts at US investment bank Jefferies said the OPEC+ decision would cut supply in the fourth quarter by about 100,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, enough to prevent a build-up in inventories even if demand from China does not improve.
In Libya, some tankers were allowed to load crude from the OPEC member’s stockpiles but production remained halted amid a political dispute over the central bank and oil revenues.
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