Investing.com - WTI crude oil prices settled higher Thursday rebounding from sharp losses a day earlier as crude supplies reportedly fell at a domestic delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery rose 1.9% to settle at $68.96 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent rose 1.46% to trade at $73.45 barrel.
Information provider Genscape reportedly said U.S. crude inventories at Cushing had fallen in the week, according to traders. Stockpiles at the hub fell by 1.1 million barrels since Friday, July 27.
That reversed sentiment on oil prices which had traded as low as $66.92 a barrel intraday amid ongoing worries about major oil producers expanding output.
The UAE raised output by about 85,000 barrels a day July, while Saudi output rose to a near-record high of 10.65 million barrels a day last month, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
OPEC and non-OPEC members agreed late June to ease restrictions on output caps, which had helped trim the glut in global crude supplies underpinning oil prices.
Oil prices clawed back their losses from a day earlier which had followed a report showing a surprise build in domestic crude supplies as imports swelled.
Inventories of U.S. crude rose by 3.803 million barrels for the week ended July 27, confounding expectations for a draw of 2.794 million barrels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The unexpected build in crude supplies came as imports rose by about 1.352 million barrels a day (bpd) and exports fell by 1.373 million bpd, the EIA said.
Oil-market observers will likely turn attention to the Baker Hughes rig count data due Friday for signs of a tightening production after data showed U.S. oil output fell to 10.9 million barrels a day last week.