Oil prices were up at trading start Thursday after crude oil inventories in the U.S. showed a sharper-than-expected decline.
The price of international benchmark Brent crude was trading at $67.28 per barrel at 0622 GMT for a 0.84% gain, after closing Wednesday at $66.72 a barrel with a 4% jump.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $60.66 a barrel at the same time for a 0.31% increase, after ending the previous session at $60.47 per barrel with a 4.57% gain.
The sudden price increases came after U.S. weekly crude oil inventories fell much higher than market expectations.
The U.S.' commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 9.5 million barrels, or 2%, to 459 million barrels for the week ending July 5, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday.
The market expectation for commercial crude stocks was a decline of 3.1 million barrels.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr