Are oil prices going up? Oil prices were on the rise, reflecting news about a sharp decline in U.S. inventories published the day before.

“The unexpected and significant decline in inventories, as well as record oil exports from the U.S., pushed the market up at a time when oil prices were at multi-month lows,” notes Craig Erlem, chief commodity markets analyst at Oanda.

“Are oil prices high today? Several factors are on the agenda right now, and traders may have decided to take a more cautious stance, given the possibility of early decisions on the nuclear deal with Iran,” Market Watch quotes the expert.

As it became known the day before, last week, commercial oil inventories in the U.S. fell by 7.06 million barrels, while analysts expected an increase of 800 thousand barrels. Oil stocks at Cushing terminal, where oil traded on the NYMEX is stored, increased by 200 thousand barrels. Oil exports jumped to a historic high, exceeding 5 million barrels per day.

The price of October futures on Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange is $96.17 per barrel, which is $2.52 (2.69%) higher than at the close of the previous session.

By that time, September WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) had risen by $2.16 (4.45%) to $90.27 a barrel.

Earlier, we reported that the OPEC Secretary-General says OPEC is not to blame for rising oil prices.