Oil prices have extended their gains for a third consecutive day after a US report revealed crude stocks fell further than expected last week.
According to the Associated Press, crude for delivery next month increased by nine cents to reach $74.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while London Brent crude was slightly lower at $74.18 on the ICE Futures exchange.
The latest increase follows the release of statistics from America's Energy Information Administration, which showed crude oil inventories tumbled by 1.8 million barrels in the week ending June 4th, surpassing analysts' forecasts by around 500,000.
In a report, energy research firm Cameron Hanover said: "It was the first case of back-to-back crude oil stock draws in a row since January and that suggested to traders that recently burdensome inventories may be starting to diminish."
Yesterday (June 9th), Reuters reported that IEA deputy executive director Richard Jones had predicted a drop in Gulf of Mexico oil output of up to 300,000 barrels per day from 2015.
