NEW YORK, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices rallied on Wednesday as U.S. crude stockpiles declined for a sixth straight week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels last week, extending its losing streak to a sixth straight week.
Meanwhile, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, such as Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Venezuela, have reportedly said they supported an extension to the supply cuts, signaling that the meeting next week will go smoothly.
The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added 0.41 U.S. dollar to settle at 49.07 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery gained 0.56 dollar to close at 52.21 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
