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.

• NTPC Green Energy Adds 50 MW Solar Power in Rajasthan
• Coffee Day Enterprises Settles Rs 25 Cr Loan With Kemfin
• GST Collections Rise 14.7% to Rs 2.04 Lakh Crore in September
• GPT Infraprojects Bags Rs 385 Cr South Africa Rail Order
• Cabinet Backs Rs 1.86 Lakh Cr Plan for Green Power Grid

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.