Crude climbs as Russian production cuts offset rising inventories

Por Ron Bousso

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Crude prices rose for the second session on Friday as the outlook for lower Russian exports offset rising U.S. inventories and worries about global economic activity.

* At 09:17 GMT, Brent futures were up 64 cents, or 0.78%, at $82.85 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 59 cents, or 0.78%, to $75.98.

* In the previous session, indices rose about 2% on Russian plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by 25% in March, exceeding announced production cuts of 500,000 barrels a day.

* “Higher-than-expected U.S. crude inventories continue to challenge the outlook for oil demand, but expectations of lower Russian production are having an offsetting impact,” said market strategist Yeap Jun Rong. at IG.

* US inventories are at their highest level since May 2021.

* U.S. crude inventories rose 7.6 million barrels, to about 479 million barrels, in the week to February 17, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

* During the week, crude oil prices remained almost flat, after the previous week’s declines of around 4%, also weighed down by concerns over rising interest rates, which could strengthen the dollar and curb demand for fuel.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Hayley and Jeslyn Lerh; Spanish edition by Carlos Serrano)