Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Wednesday, July 3, after data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, boosting hopes for strong fuel demand during the summer driving season in the world's top oil consumer.
Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.60 a barrel by 00:33 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.95 a barrel.
Hurricane Beryl fears
Both benchmarks fell at the close on Tuesday as concerns faded that Hurricane Beryl would disrupt production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Petroleum Institute Data
Crude oil inventories fell by 9.163 million barrels in the week ending June 28, sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, is scheduled to release its weekly data on Wednesday at 14:30 GMT.
