By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - U.S. crude stockpiles fell less than expected last week just as investors continued to assess the risk of supply outstripping demand amid the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 on the travel.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $70.42 barrel on the news, after settling down 0.8% at $70.73 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 815,000 barrels for the week ended Dec.10. That compared with a draw of 3.1 million barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting a draw of about 2.6 million barrels.
The API data also showed that gasoline inventories rose by 426,000 barrels last week, and distillate stocks decreased by 1.0 million barrels.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies fell by about 2.1 million barrels last week.