Oil Prices Rise as U.S. Stocks Decline and Red Sea Tensions Increase

Oil prices rose by more than 1% early on Thursday, buoyed by a larger-than-expected U.S. crude draw, Chinese stimulus, and continued attacks by the Houthis in and near the Red Sea. As of 10:50 a.m. ET on Thursday, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, had risen by 1.53% to $76.00. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was up by 1.36% at $80.95.   Oil prices were supported early on Thursday by the Energy Information Administration’s inventory report from Wednesday, which showed a crude draw of 9.2 million barrels for…