Brent Crude Tops $50

US crude stockpiles sharply declined last week as refineries increased their output, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed late Tuesday. Crude supplies fell by 10.20 million barrels during the week ended July 21^st to 487.00 million. The official supply figures from the US Energy Information Administration will be released later on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts have forecast a drop of 2.50 million barrels in crude inventories. Investor optimism received an added boost after Saudi Arabia announced it would be limiting its crude exports to 6.60 million barrels a day in August, down almost 1.00 million barrels a day from the same period last year. Oil prices have been rallying ever since, climbing 2.50% in the past couple of sessions. Market sentiment has turned decisively bullish, with $51.20 representing the immediate resistance, a close above which could see Brent climbing to $52.50 a barrel.

British factories increased output at the fastest pace since 1995 over the past three months, further supporting the view that manufacturing might help sustain the economy as it slows during the course of the year. The Confederation of British Industry's quarterly industrial trends survey showed manufacturing rising to +31 during the May-July period, up from +22 in the three months to April. The business lobby group remarked that the steep fall in the value of Sterling over the past year has bolstered export orders, while domestic demand continued to remain strong. The report comes ahead of the preliminary second quarter GDP results alongside the Bank of England’s interest rate decision next week. Most economists now expect the Central Bank to keep rates on hold until 2019. FTSE 100 futures were last seen around the 7370-mark after recovering on Tuesday.