Crude prices recorded gains of more than 1% for the third consecutive session, with the beginning of the American session trading today, Wednesday, March 29th, amid anticipation of US inventory numbers, as Brent crude is trading at $79.48 a barrel, an increase of 1.06%, while US crude (NYMEX) is rising by about 1.22%, trading at $74.09 a barrel.

Some reports showed that crude exports from several oil fields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq have stopped or closed, raising fears of diminishing supplies and supporting the rise in crude prices today.

On the other hand, delegates from OPEC member states told Bloomberg Agency this morning that it is not expected that OPEC and its producing allies outside the organization in the OPEC + alliance will make any adjustments to oil production plans at its meeting next week, especially in light of the financial market turmoil.

The report of the American Petroleum Institute showed in the preliminary reading of inventories issued yesterday, Tuesday, that US inventories declined in the past week, ending on March 24, by 6.1 million barrels. In details, gasoline stocks decreased by about 5.9 million barrels, and distillate stocks, which include heating fuel and diesel, increased by about 550 thousand barrels.

During today’s American session, the markets are awaiting official figures from the US Energy Information Administration, as estimates indicate an increase in inventories by about 1.8 million barrels last week.