Oil rises on signs of strong US demand

Oil prices rose today, Aug. 8, after official data showed continued momentum in demand for black gold in America, the world's largest economy, despite recession fears.

Brent crude was trading up 0.15% at $78.45 at 08:19 am Makkah time. WTI crude rose 0.28%, or 21 cents, to $75.44 a barrel.

Energy Information Administration data issued on Aug. 7 showed that US crude oil inventories fell by 3.7 million barrels last week, compared to the expectations of a decline by 1.6 million barrels.

This data contributed to supporting the oil prices, and enhanced recovery after the wave of selling witnessed by global markets at the beginning of this week, against the backdrop of fears of a slowdown in the US economy as a result of what appeared to be weakness in employment and industrial activity in July.

Investors are awaiting the release of weekly data on US unemployment claims today to ascertain the state of the labor market in the world's largest economy. Expectations indicate a possible decline to 245,000 claims from 249,000 in the previous week.