As voters stood in lines for hours to cast their ballots for President, oil prices rose in the U.S. and Europe. But analysts suggest it wasn’t the election that sent prices climbing, rather a major draw in crude oil inventories of 8.01 million barrels.
The American Petroleum Institute said the draw was for the week that ended October 30 and it occurred as analysts had forecast an inventory spike of 890,000 barrels.
As a result, West Texas Intermediate crude rose 97 cents or 2.64% to settle at $37.77 a barrel.
Brent Crude, considered the benchmark rose 89 cents or 2.28% to finish the day on ICE futures at $39.86.
Oil prices increased as did oil production last week in the U.S. The Energy Information Administration reports the country’s oil production is at 11.1 million bpd.
