Oil Prices Climb on a U.S. Inventory Draw and Inflation Optimism

Crude oil prices climbed higher earlier today following signs that demand is in a healthy condition and the U.S. economy is not in too bad a shape either. The change in trader sentiment followed the release of the EIA’s latest weekly petroleum status report that revealed a larger-than-expected draw of 2.5 million barrels for the week to May 10. Fuel inventories also booked declines, although much smaller, which may have helped the more bullish sentiment. Further support for prices came from the latest data on inflation, which showed a…