Oil prices climbed on Wednesday even after data showed U.S. crude inventories increased last week.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July delivery rose 66 cents to settle at 39.60 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery advanced 55 cents to close at 41.73 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 5.7 million barrels during the week ending June 5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Wednesday.
In its latest short-term outlook released on Tuesday, the EIA predicts that U.S. oil production will decrease from 11.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in May to 10.6 million b/d in March 2021. At the same time, the EIA expects U.S. demand in the third quarter to total 18.4 million b/d, down 2.3 million b/d year-over-year.
Oil prices also found some support from major crude producers' latest pact on supply cuts.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to extend the historic 9.7 million barrels per day production cut till the end of July.
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