LONDON: Oil prices edged up on Thursday after falling in the previous session, boosted by a bigger than expected draw in US crude stockpiles and a broader equities rally.
Brent crude futures were up 43 cents, or 0.7percent, at USD63.94 a barrel by 1400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 42 cents, or 0.7 percent, to USD59.86.
Both benchmarks rebounded after falls of about 2percent in the previous session after reports indicated that the US had drafted a framework for its push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which could release more Russian oil into the market.
Global stock markets, which often move in tandem with oil prices, rallied on Thursday as investors cheered AI chipmaker Nvidia’s forecast-topping earnings.
US sanctions on trading with Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil come into effect on Friday while Lukoil has until December 13 to sell its sprawling international portfolio. Lending support to oil prices from the demand side was a bigger than expected draw in US crude stockpiles, which reflected increased refining in response to strong margins and export demand for US crude.
Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 424.2 million in the week ended November 14, the Energy Information Administration said, against a draw of 603,000 barrels projected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
That said, analysts also noted that US gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased for the first time in more than a month, suggesting slowing consumption.
Gains were capped by persisting oil market oversupply fears and the US dollar hovering near a six-month high, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla Additional reporting by Enes Tunagur in London, Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Siyi Liu in Singapore Editing by Ed Osmond and David Goodman )
2025-11-20 19:41:20 SPAIN-COURT/PROSECUTOR (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV) UPDATE 2-Spain’s Supreme Court finds chief prosecutor guilty in leak case (Adds context from paragraph 3, government reaction in paragraph 5) MADRID, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Spain’s Supreme Court said on Thursday it has found the country’s chief prosecutor guilty of leaking confidential information about a case involving a leading opposition figure’s partner.
In an unprecedented ruling against such a senior legal figure, Garcia Ortiz was disqualified from holding the office for two years and ordered to pay fines totalling 7,300 euros (USD8,402), according to a court statement.
The decision is a blow to the Socialist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who appointed Garcia Ortiz in 2022. The case as a whole is likely to further erode confidence in the legal system and separation of powers. A government source said Sanchez’s government would respect the ruling even if it did not agree with it, and would begin the process of naming a new chief prosecutor in the coming days.
The case focused on a tax fraud case involving Alberto Gonzalez Amador, the boyfriend of the leader of Madrid region - Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a prominent figure in the conservative opposition People’s Party (PP). Testifying during the case, Garcia Ortiz denied accusations that he shared with the media the contents of an email exchange between prosecutors and Gonzalez Amador’s lawyer, in which the attorney proposed that his client admit two counts of tax fraud in a deal to avoid jail.
Gonzalez Amador later testified in court that he had no knowledge of any such deal. The case has pitted Spain’s minority leftist government against the PP, which has criticised the government over several corruption cases. PP lower house spokesperson Ester Muñoz said on X that Sanchez needed to apologise to Spaniards, resign and call a snap election.
The court also ordered Garcia Ortiz to pay 10,000 euros in compensation to Gonzalez Amador for moral damages. Garcia Ortiz could still appeal for the Supreme Court to annul the judge’s ruling and bring the case before the Constitutional Court.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.