Oil futures climbed on Thursday, with U.S. prices marking another settlement at the highest since late October 2014 after the International Energy Agency lifted its global oil-demand forecast for this year and next on the back of a “massive” switch to crude by power generators facing an energy shortage. Data from the Energy Information Administration showing a 6.1 million-barrel rise in last week’s U.S. crude inventories, however, kept price gains in check. The supply climb was the third weekly rise in a row and biggest since March. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery rose 87 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $81.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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