2023.06.0719:29:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Higher

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia's decision last weekend to cut crude output by another one million barrels per day in July outweighed concerns about demand.

The report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) signaled the U.S. will see strong travel demand this summer.

Data showing crude oil imports into China, the world's largest oil importer, rose to their third-highest monthly level in May, helped push up oil prices.

Data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week helped as well.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.79 or about 1.1% at $72.53 a barrel.

Brent crude futures settled at $76.95 a barrel, gaining $0.66 or about 0.9%.

Data from the EIA showed crude stockpiles dropped by about 450,000 barrels.

Diesel inventories rose by 5.1 million barrels, while gasoline stockpiles rose by 2.8 million barrels last week, substantially more than the expected increase of 880,000 barrels.

"Until we see stimulus from the PBOC, Brent crude might trade between $72 and $82. WTI crude seems poised to be rangebound between the $67 and $75 levels," says Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA.