Crude oil futures were steady during mid-morning trade in Asia July 9, as bullishness due to robust US Energy Information Administration data faded quickly amid concerns over a rise in COVID-19 infections and uncertainty over OPEC+ production. At 11:15 am Singapore time (0315 GMT), the ICE September Brent futures contract was up 5 cents/b (0.07%) from the previous close at $74.17/b, while the NYMEX August light sweet crude contract was up 14 cents/b (0.19%) at $73.08/b. Data released by the EIA late July 8 showed a headline 6.87 million-barrel draw in US crude inventories in the week ended July 2, leaving inventories more than 7% behind the five-year average and at their lowest since late February 2020. The crude draw was in line with analysts’ expectations of a 6.2 million-barrel draw, but was slightly more […]