Crude nearly erased all losses after a U.S. government report showed inventories at the nation’s key storage hub in Oklahoma declined.

Stockpiles at the Cushing site declined for a sixth straight week to the lowest level since late March.

Gasoline and distillate inventories also fell, signaling a slight pick-up in demand during the summer driving season with coronavirus-led lockdowns easing in some parts of the country.

Despite the mostly bullish data set, overall crude stockpiles in the U.S. rose last week.

Prices

• West Texas Intermediate for July settlement slipped 20 cents to US$38.18 a barrel at 10:43 a.m. in New York after falling as much as 3.1 per cent.
• Brent for August delivery fell 8 cents to US$40.88 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

--With assistance from James Thornhill.