NEW YORK, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices rose on Wednesday after data showed a hefty drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery added 49 cents to settle at 73.47 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery increased 37 cents to close at 75.13 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 6.7 million barrels during the week ending June 25, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had expected the EIA publications to show a fall of 4.7 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles.
At 452.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were about 6 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
According to the EIA, total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.5 million barrels last week, while distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.9 million barrels.
Meanwhile, traders awaited a key meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, as the group is slated to meet via videoconference on Thursday to review crude production levels. Enditem
