: U.S. oil futures hold above $80 for a fifth consecutive session

Oil futures post a slight gain on Wednesday, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate prices holding above the key $80 level for a fifth consecutive session. The modest move up for prices came after the Energy Information Administration reported a 500,000-barrel weekly climb in U.S. crude inventories. The EIA data “reflected what pricing has been telling us for weeks; namely the growing premium for Brent relative to WTI seen since late December is once again leading to stronger crude exports, which helped limit crude builds this week despite weakness in U.S. refinery runs,” said Troy Vincent, senior market analyst at DTN. U.S. benchmark West Texas CLH23 edged up by 2 cents to settle at $80.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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