Oil Prices Soar As Supply Decreases

Oil prices gained in early Asian trade on Wednesday, boosted by expected decreases in US oil inventories and OPEC+'s revised output cut objectives.

By 0021 GMT, Brent oil futures were up 38 cents to $85.32 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude in the United States rose 33 cents to $81.04 a barrel.

An industry data suggesting that US crude stockpiles declined by around 4.3 million barrels in the week ending March 31, according to market sources quoting American Petroleum Institute numbers on Tuesday, helped lift oil prices.

In Asia, Japan's service sector expanded at the quickest rate in more than nine years in March.

Per the sources, petrol stockpiles declined by roughly 4 million barrels, while distillate supplies fell by about 3.7 million barrels since they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The official inventory report from the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the United States Department of Energy, is expected on Wednesday at 1430 GMT.

The most recent objectives established by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, including Russia, dubbed OPEC+, also aided oil prices. The OPEC+ proposal would raise the group's total volume of cutbacks to 3.66 million bpd, including a 2 million-barrel cut in October, or around 3.7% of world demand.

Concerns about demand kept oil prices from rising, with US job vacancies in February falling to their lowest level in almost two years and US factory activity plummeting in March. Last month's drop in Chinese manufacturing activity exacerbated fears about crude oil consumption.