Oil prices at five-month high on big drop in US crude stocks, weak dollar

Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday on a drop in US crude inventories and the weak dollar, but mounting coronavirus infections weighed on the demand outlook.

Brent crude was up $1.50, or 3.4 per cent, at $45.93 a barrel by 13:45 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.51, or 3.6 per cent, to $43.21 a barrel.

Both contracts gained over 4 per cent earlier in the session.

US crude inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels in the week to August 1 to 520 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 3 million barrel drop, the American