Oil rises for the fourth day and stock builds up

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices rose for a fourth day Wednesday, despite a sector report showing that US stocks unexpectedly rose last week, with supply cuts and sanctions supporting the market .

Brent futures rose 22 cents or 0.3 percent to $ 69.59 per barrel at 00:28 GMT, after reaching $ 69.68, the highest level since November 13. The global benchmark closed up 0.5% on Tuesday.

US West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $ 62.64 per barrel. On Tuesday, the contract rose 1.61% to $ 62.58 a barrel after reaching $ 62.75, its highest level since November 7th.

"With production falling for a fourth month thanks to continued reductions in OPEC production and sanctions imposed on Iran and Venezuela, oil prices are well supported," said Fiona Cincotta , senior market badyst at Cityindex.

"On the demand side, easing the fears of an economic slowdown is also supportive," she said.

The supply of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries hit its lowest level in four years in March, according to a Reuters survey found earlier this week. [OPEC/O]

Three of the eight countries to which Washington gave up importing Iranian oil have reduced their imports to zero, said a US official on Tuesday, adding that improving global oil market conditions would further reduce Iran's exports of crude oil. .

"In November, we granted eight oil exemptions to avoid a surge in the price of oil. I can confirm today that three of these importers are now at zero, "told reporters Brian Hook, the US special envoy for Iran, without identifying the countries.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the United States would continue to put pressure on the Venezuelan oil industry and on those who support it with economic sanctions, citing the world price of oil as sufficiently low. to allow such measurements.

According to PDVSA documents and Refinitiv Eikon data, the national energy company PDVSA has limited oil exports to one million barrels a day despite US sanctions and power cuts that paralyzed its main export terminal.

US stocks of crude rose unexpectedly last week as gasoline and distillate stocks rose, the industrial group American Petroleum Institute announced Tuesday.