Investing.com - Crude oil prices held gains into Asia on Thursday after bullish U.S. stockpiles data bolstered views of solid demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in August traded at $101.39 a barrel, up 0.18%, after hitting an overnight session low of $99.95 a barrel and a high of $101.39 a barrel.
The global Brent oil contract lost 0.2% to $105.85 a barrel, on the last day of trading for the expiring August contract.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 7.5 million barrels in the week ended July 11, far surpassing expectations for a decline of 2.1 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 375.0 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 0.2 million barrels, below forecasts for a gain of 0.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 2.5 million barrels, above expectations for an increase of 1.7 million barrels.
Upbeat growth data in China, the world's second-largest consumer of crude, also boosted the commodity.
Official data released earlier showed that China's economy expanded at an annual rate of 7.5% in the second quarter, above expectations for growth of 7.4%.
A separate report showed that industrial production in China rose by an annualized rate of 9.2% in June, compared to expectations for a 9% increase, after an 8.8% gain in the previous month.