By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - U.S. crude stockpiles fell by less than expected last week, but the bullish sentiment on energy since the start of the week remained intact amid signs China has curbed the latest wave of Covid-19.
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark climbed to $67.51 a barrel on the news, after settling up $1.90 to $67.51 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories decreased by about 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 20. That compared with a draw of 1.2 million barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting a draw of about 2.4 million barrels.
The API also showed that gasoline inventories declined by about 985,000 last week, compared with a 1.2 million draw in the prior week, and distillate stocks increased by about 245,000 barrels.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies declined by about 2.7 million barrels last week.