By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Oil was up Wednesday morning in Asia, holding gains as the latest U.S. crude oil supply data showed a bigger-than-expected draw. Trading volumes are also thinning out as the holiday period approaches.
Brent oil futures edged up 0.18% to $74.11 by 11:13 PM ET (4:13 AM GMT) and WTI futures were up 0.37% to $71.38. Futures in New York closed 3.7% higher on Tuesday, rallying with other financial assets. after a two-day slump.
Tuesday’s crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a draw of 3.67 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 17. Forecasts prepared by Investing.com had predicted a 2.633-million-barrel draw, while an 815,000-barrel draw was recorded during the previous week.
The API data also said that U.S. gasoline stockpiles increased by 3.7 million barrels last week, crude inventories at the key storage hub of Cushing rose by 1.27 million barrels, and distillate supplies fell.
Investors now await crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day.
In Asia Pacific, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said on Wednesday that the government would work to aid economic growth, including stepping up government spending, strengthening support to manufacturers, and stabilizing industry supply chains.
The world's biggest oil importer would "strive to stabilize economic operations in the first quarter, the first half and even the whole year," Ning told Xinhua News Agency.
On the COVID-19 front, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not introduce new restrictions before Christmas but warned they could be necessary afterwards. His Australian counterpart Scott Morrison ruled out lockdowns earlier in the day, instead urging people to get booster shots.