Brent Brent is trading above $87 per barrel

By Adedapo Adesanya

Brent crude hit its highest level since April on Thursday, trading at $87.55 a barrel, after gaining 0.2 percent, or 21 cents, amid reactions to a drop in U.S. inventories the previous day.

Also, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 18 cents to $84.06 in light trading on the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a drawdown of 12.2 million barrels, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a draw of 680,000 barrels.

Traders also watched the conflict in Gaza, as well as elections in France and the United Kingdom.

Those gains came after a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

An unexpected drop in industrial orders in Germany came in May, adding to growing evidence that Europe’s biggest economy is still struggling to recover.

Concerns about demand were heightened by US data released on Wednesday that showed first-time claims for jobless benefits rose last week, while the number of people out of work also rose.

In response, analysts believe that weaker economic data could hasten interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, which could be beneficial for oil markets this time around.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco cut the price of the light Arab crude it will sell to Asia in August to $1.80 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average.

The potential price cut for Asia, which accounts for about 80 percent of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, underscores the pressure facing producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as non-OPEC supply continues to rise, while that the global economy is facing headwinds. .

Swiss bank UBS expects Brent crude to reach $90 a barrel this quarter, it said in a note to clients, citing OPEC+ production cuts and projected declines in oil inventories.

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