Oil rises on sharp drop in crude inventories

Oil prices bounced on Thursday as a steep decline in oil inventories outweighed concerns that a surge in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. could stall demand recovery.

Brent crude futures rose 0.6%, or 25 cents, at $42.28 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.6%, or 25 cents, at $40.07 per barrel. 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles dropped 7.2 million barrels, significantly bigger than analysts’ expectations.

However, analysts noted that gasoline inventories rose higher than expected, capping gains on oil prices.

Meanwhile, new U.S. coronavirus cases increased almost 50,000 on Wednesday, its biggest one-day surge since the pandemic began.