Oil prices climbed for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, boosted by increasing energy consumption in the U.S. and optimistic expectations regarding a trade agreement with India, rising approximately 2%.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for December delivery increased by $1.26, or 2.20%, closing at $58.50 per barrel. Meanwhile, the Brent crude contract settled up $1.27, a rise of 2.07%, at $62.59 per barrel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that, bolstered by active refining activity and heightened demand, crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories in the U.S. saw a decline last week. Crude oil stocks fell by 961,000 barrels to 422.8 million barrels, while a Reuters survey of analysts had anticipated an increase of 1.2 million barrels.
"This performance is remarkable for the seasonally slow period," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. "It demonstrates robust oil demand, while supply data does not indicate an oversupply of crude oil—at least not domestically."
President Trump mentioned on Tuesday that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Modi, who assured him that India would restrain its purchases of oil from Russia.
"Reports suggest that the U.S. and India are nearing a trade agreement, which could lead India to gradually reduce its imports of Russian crude, thus boosting the demand for other grades of oil and pushing prices higher," stated Soojin Kim, an analyst at MUFG.
The Mint reported on Wednesday that the two countries are close to finalizing a long-stalled trade agreement, which would reduce tariffs on U.S. imports to India from 50% to 15-16%.