Crude Oil Futures Jump on Thursday Following Favorable Government Reports

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Crude oil futures closed at their highest finish in almost three weeks on Thursday as traders were buoyed by the results of OPEC’s production cut, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

March West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.03, or 2%, to settle at $53.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange—the highest settlement since January 6.

On the London ICE Futures Exchange, March Brent crude, the global benchmark, added $1.16, or 2.1%, to end trading at $56.24 a barrel.

Over the weekend, OPEC indicated it was making progress on its pledge to curb oil production—with 24 oil producers making collective cuts totaling 1.5 million barrels a day—over 80% of the total pledged.

The crude oil futures market has been concerned that higher prices have led to rising crude production in the U.S.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic oil inventories rose 2.8 million barrels in the week ending January 20, marking a third-straight weekly rise.

Meanwhile, prices for natural gas rose after the EIA data released on Thursday revealed that supplies of natural gas fell by 119 billion cubic feet for the week ending January 20. That figure matched the decline expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts.

February natural gas added 5 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $3.382 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract expires at settlement time on Friday.