Oil continues to rise

Asian Stocks Oil rose after U.S. crude inventories fell and the Federal Reserve said further rate hikes would depend on data. U.S. crude rose for the fifth time in six sessions to trade above $79 a barrel, as benchmark stock indexes in Hong Kong and Australia rose. There is growing speculation that the Fed is nearing the end of its monetary tightening cycle after raising interest rates for the 11th time since March. U.S. stocks rose after the decision, suggesting investors are expecting the most aggressive tightening campaign since the 1980s to wind down. The dollar also weakened despite the move. Meanwhile, crude inventories nationwide fell by 600,000 barrels last week, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and inventories at a storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell to their lowest level since May. Phillip Nova Pte Ltd. The “minimal drawdown” in U.S. inventories and the dollar’s slide following the Fed’s decision “repaired the ground under oil’s ongoing flight,” said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva. The tightening supply outlook, along with signs that top importer China may move to further stimulate its economy, helped fuel crude’s rally in recent weeks. Hawkish monetary policy in the U.S. and Europe and lackluster growth in China weighed on prices earlier in the year.