Oil prices climbed on June 24 after a sharp reduction in the United States crude and gasoline stocks reinforced optimism of a quick recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 0.1 per cent, to $75.28 a barrel, after increasing 0.5 per cent on Wednesday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained to $73.14 a barrel.

Both benchmarks hit their highest since October 2018 on Wednesday. Still, they pared gains later in the session as energy traders locked in profit after the US inventory report, Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA, said in a statement. Prices resumed climbing in Asia trade on Thursday.

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US crude oil inventories fell by 7.6 million barrels in the week to 459.1 million barrels, their lowest since March 2020, the US Energy Information Administration said. “Oil prices were lifted by the US inventory data, which confirmed the strong outlook for higher fuel demand in the second half of this year, backed by a recovery in road and air travel,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.