Oil Prices Tick Up as Crude, Gasoline Inventories Ease

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as crude stocks fell after US refineries ramped up processing and as gasoline inventories eased, signalling stronger demand. Brent futures rose 35 cents, or 0.4% to $85.43 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 36 cents, or 0.5%, to $82.47 a barrel. US crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 445.1 million barrels in the week ended July 5. Gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels to 229.7 million barrels, much bigger than the 600,000-barrel draw analysts expected. Source: Qatar News Agency