WTI crude futures rose nearly 1% to above $75.5 a barrel on Wednesday, hovering at the highest levels in over two months, as investors welcomed signs of cooling inflation in the US, which offered some support the Fed’s tightening cycle may be close to an end. At the same time, a weaker dollar, optimism that Chinese authorities will unveil further measures to boost growth and signs that Russian crude output is starting to decrease also supported the oil market. Vessel tracking data showed shipments through Russia’s western ports in the four weeks to July 9 dropped substantially, more than four months after the OPEC+ producer was due to slash output, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia and Russia announced additional production cuts for August. On the other hand, EIA data showed US crude inventories unexpectedly surged by 5.95 million barrels last week, the first add in four weeks, and way higher than market forecasts of a 0.483 million increase.
