Oil was mixed in the Asian trade today, with data showing stronger US energy demand helping to perk up prices.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for August delivery, rose six cents to $98.73 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for August was down 41 cents at $118.18.
“Brent is slightly down as it is in a consolidation phase after a strong rally,” said Mr Serene Lim, an oil and gas analyst at ANZ Bank in Singapore.
“However, the tone is rather positive as the US Department of Energy (DoE) data was very positive.”
The DoE said gasoline (petrol) reserves fell 600,000 barrels in the week ending July 1. That confounded expectations for a gain of 200,000 barrels, and indicated stronger demand as prices fell and summer vacations began in the world’s biggest oil-consuming nation.
Crude inventories, however, were down 900,000 barrels last week, well short of forecasts for a 2.4-million-barrel drop.
“Though crude oil stockpiles fell less than expected, overall, coupled with other refined products, it was still a very bullish set of DoE data,” Mr Lim added.
Crude prices were also boosted by US jobs numbers and encouraging retail sales figures.