Strengthening Defense Oil Price!

<p>&nbsp;Oil prices were steady on Thursday hovering at their strongest in 10 months, supported by concerns over tight global oil supplies.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most recently, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that US crude oil inventories fell by 5.5 million barrels last week, compared to expectations for a reduction of only 1.4 million barrels.</p><p><br /></p><p>The fall followed a much larger-than-expected 11.5 million barrel reduction in the week ending August 25.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Investors are now focusing on inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to be published today, which is expected to record a contraction for the fourth week in a row.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, trade data released during the Asian session showed China's exports fell 8.8% in August, while imports contracted by 7.3%.</p><p><br /></p><p>These numbers had little impact on crude oil trading to retreat slightly from the highs but both benchmarks continued to strengthen around the highest levels since November 2022.</p><p><br /></p><p>The European session saw Brent crude trading little changed at around $90.18 a barrel, while US WTI was steady at $87.14 a barrel.</p>