WTI rises to four-day high

The price of West Texas intermediate crude oil reached the highest level in four days amid speculation that fuel demand is increasing in the U.S.

Up to 50 percent of tight oil output in the U.S. is at risk if current price levels remain, Bloomberg reports.

{mosads}The four-day high is heading in the right direction for producers.

“Prices are reacting somewhat to U.S. consumer confidence that was better than expected and the API numbers,” Olivier Jakob, managing director of Zug, Switzerland-based researcher Petromatrix GmbH, said by phone.

While the price of international Brent crude gained as well, Norwegian energy company Statoil said on Wednesday that it was hit by the lower Brent prices.

Statoil said it suffered a net loss of $727 million in the third quarter, The Associated Press reports.

Operations remained strong despite the drop in income, Statoil said.