Oil Prices Rise on Tight Supply, Renewed Risk Appetite

Oil Prices Rise on Tight Supply, Renewed Risk Appetite

The sun sets behind an oil pump outside Saint-Fiacre, near Paris, France September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, riding higher on growing fuel demand and a bigger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories as production remains hampered in the Gulf of Mexico after two hurricanes.

The market was also supported by a return of appetite for risk assets as concerns eased over a potential default by property developer China Evergrande and its possible fallout on the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.40 a barrel by 0645 GMT, while Brent crude rose 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.37 a barrel.

Both contracts jumped 2.5% on Wednesday after data from the US Energy Information Administration showed US crude stocks fell by 3.5 million barrels to 414 million barrels in the week to Sept. 17 - the lowest total since October 2018 - in a bigger drawdown than analysts had expected.

"With Gulf of Mexico production returning slowly, and natural gas prices remaining sky high, the structural outlook for oil remains promising as OPEC+ struggles to meet even its current production quotas," said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA.

Several OPEC+ countries -