WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices traded modestly higher on Thursday after two consecutive sessions of losses. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.3 percent to $85.70 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up half a percent at $81.72.
Investors heaved a sigh of relief as the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed smaller increase in U.S. crude oil inventories than the rise forecast by the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API).
The EIA data showed that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 3.2 million barrels for the week ending March 22 from the previous week, well below API's forecast of 9.33 million barrels for the week.
WTI contracts were on track for a 14 percent quarterly gain, thanks to the OPEC+ output cuts, signs of firmer demand in the U.S. and China, the recent drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian refineries and expectations of rate cuts, especially in the United States.
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