Oil continues upwards as weak demand fears subside

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices continued to rise today, May 16, following gains in the previous session, supported by the calming of investors' concerns about weak demand in the United States after the release of weekly inventory data.

Brent crude was trading up 0.52% at $83.18 a barrel, at 08:25 am Makkah time, after gaining 0.45% in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.56% to $79.07 a barrel.

The US Energy Information Administration data showed that oil inventories in the US declined by 2.5 million barrels last week, compared to expectations of a tumble by 400,000 barrels.

This marked a decline for the second week in a row. Meanwhile, Labor Department data showed consumer price inflation slowed at both the monthly and annual levels in April, which raised hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut soon.