Oil rose by almost 3 per cent on Wednesday to climb back above $70 a barrel after a US industry report showed a steep drop in gasoline stockpiles in the world’s largest energy consumer. Prices had slumped to lows near $67 a barrel at one stage on Tuesday, pressured by concerns about the health of European banks and mounting tensions between North and South Korea. But a late rally on Wall Street that spread to Asia and Europe on Wednesday lifted sentiment in the oil market. The rebound was aided by a far larger-than-expected 3.2 million barrels drop in US gasoline stocks last week, reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API).
US crude for July delivery was up $1.65 a barrel at $70.40 at 1345 GMT. Brent traded up $1.46 at $71.01 a barrel. Traders said both commodity and equity markets were benefiting from bargain hunters swooping after European shares slumped to a nine-month low.
