Oil rises on manufacturing data, U.S. inventories

Oil prices rose on Wednesday on a string of positive manufacturing data and a drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, both indicating an economic recovery and rise in energy demand despite surging coronavirus infections around the world. Brent crude was up 59 cents, or 1.4%, to $41.86 a barrel at 1107 GMT, and U.S. crude was up 64 cents, or 1.6%, at $39.91 a barrel. U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell more than expected last week, while distillate inventories rose, data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Tuesday showed.