Oil prices rose at the end of trading today, Wednesday, after US government data showed that crude supplies decreased more than expected, while concerns about the Chinese economy limited gains.
Brent crude futures rose 37 cents to settle at $85.86 a barrel. The October contract expires on Thursday, while the more active November contract rose 33 cents to $85.21 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 47 cents to $81.63 a barrel.
Data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed that US crude inventories fell by 10.6 million barrels last week, to 422.9 million barrels. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a decline of 3.3 million barrels
The quantity of product supplied from final motor gasoline - which is an alternative to demand - is about 9.1 million barrels per day.
Investors are watching Hurricane Adalia, which came ashore as a Category 3 storm Wednesday morning in the Florida area, and by midday, the hurricane approached southeast Georgia as a Category 1 storm.
On the other hand, traders and analysts said that Chinese refiners are preparing to increase diesel exports in September to more than one million metric tons, driven by profitable margins from selling abroad, and they also expect to obtain more export shares from Beijing.
