Baghdad: Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, after two days of declines, amid an unexpected drop in US crude inventories of 3.8 million barrels. Brent crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.6 %, to $60.34 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude reached $56.36 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.7 %.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, both benchmark crudes fell by more than 1 % for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, amid expectations of ample global supplies this year. Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the surplus will reach 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026.

The US Energy Information Administration said that US crude inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ending January 2.