Singapore — Oil markets rose on Thursday, lifted by a fourth consecutive weekly fall in US crude inventories, although climbing output capped prices well below the 2015 highs reached earlier this week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $56.77 a barrel at 3.44am GMT, up 17c, or 0.3%, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $62.81 a barrel, up 37c, or 0.6% from their last close. US crude oil stockpiles fell by 5.1-million barrels in the week to December 8, the fourth consecutive week of declines, to 442.99-million barrels, the lowest since October, 2015. Despite the rise, Brent was well below the $65.83 a barrel June, 2015 high reached earlier this week. It hit that level after the Forties pipeline in the North Sea, which carries significant amounts of crude used to underpin Brent crude futures, was shut down due to cracks. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said it saw no immediate need to act, for i...
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