Brent Crude Oil: Futures held its recent advance near $100 per barrel on Wednesday after an industry report showed another larger-than-expected fall in US crude inventories adding to concerns about tightening global supply.
The API reported late on Tuesday that US crude stockpiles declined by 5.632 million barrels last week, much bigger than expectations for a 900,000 barrel drop.
Official data from the EIA will be released later in the global day, with analysts predicting a 933,000 barrel fall. Oil prices surged nearly 4% on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia flagged possible supply cuts from OPEC+ to counter downward pressure on oil prices.
Meanwhile, crude is still down about 25% from the June high on growing fears that a global economic slowdown would dampen consumption as major central banks stem demand with aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation.
The potential revival of the 2015 nuclear deal that could lead to more Iranian oil exports also added downside risks to oil prices.
