Brent oil is trading at a high of $49.05 per barrel Thursday morning as US API industry data showed the nation’s crude stockpiles fell, easing a glut.
Crude inventories dropped by -6.7 million barrels last week, according to a report by the American Petroleum Institute. Government data out later today will probably show US crude supplies declined by -2.5 million barrels last week analysts said quoting a Bloomberg survey.
Reports also show that US oil export has risen 77 percent since February to a record 662,000 barrels a day in May as Colombia and Peru bought cargoes for the first time, according to the US Census Bureau.
Canada and the Netherlands were the top buyers, the data show. Exports are at the highest level since the 40-year ban on most unprocessed crude was lifted at the end of last year.
Crude Oil has traded between $45 and $51 a barrel over the past month since almost doubling from a 12-year low in February. The recovery has prompted US producers to begin returning drilling rigs to service, leading to speculation that a decline in output will slow.
In Nigeria, a statement on a website claiming to represent militant group Niger Delta Avengers said it blew up Chevron Corp. manifolds. Chevron doesn’t comment on safety and security of its personnel and operations, Isabel Ordonez, a company spokeswoman, said.
In the meantime, Libya will start exporting oil in a week from Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, two of the country’s biggest ports, Ibrahim al-Jedran, commander of Libya’s oil guards facilities in the middle region, said by phone.
