Oil prices rallied Wednesday as U. S. crude stockpiles decreased more than expected. U.S. crude supplies of last week lost 5.9 million barrels to 484.8 million barrels, 97.6 million barrels more than one year before, showed U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA)'s weekly report released Wednesday.
U.S. crude production added 3,000 to 9.179 million barrels a day last week, according to the report. Data from oil service company Baker Hughes released Wednesday showed that the number of active U.S. oil drilling lost three to 538 of this week.
The data also helped boost the market as the number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs is viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry.
The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery moved up 1.36 U.S. dollars to settle at 37.5 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery increased 1.25 dollars to close at 37.36 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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