Azeri Light crude keeps rising

Azeri LT CIF crude oil, exported from Azerbaijan to the world markets, increased $ 0.08 (+0.16%), settling at $ 51.52 per barrel, Report informs.

Oil prices hit a nine-month high early on Thursday after U.S. government data showed that crude stockpiles fell last week and on optimism over a coronavirus relief package in the United States.

Brent crude futures rose by 28 cents, or 0.6%, to $51.36 a barrel at 0116 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $48.09 a barrel. Both benchmarks hit their highest since early March.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 11, the Energy Information Administration said. That was more than analysts’ expectations of a 1.9-million-barrel drop after stockpiles surged in last week’s data.

Refinery crude runs fell by 253,000 barrels per day in the past week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.8 percentage points in the week.