Crude oil futures recorded modest gains in the middle of the trading week, buoyed by bullish storage data that suggested solid consumer demand. Oil prices have struggled to sustain momentum, though they are still up by double digits this year.

August West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures advanced $0.47, or 0.58%, to $81.88 per barrel at 14:54 GMT on Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices are up nearly 15% year-to-date.

Brent, the international benchmark for oil prices, eyed $85 midweek. September Brent crude futures increased $0.24, or 0.28%, to $84.90 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. Brent has risen around 10% year-to-date.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), domestic inventories of crude oil plummeted 3.444 million barrels for the week ending July 5, representing the second consecutive weekly drawdown. The withdrawal was bigger than the consensus estimate of -3 million barrels.

Gasoline supplies fell by 2.006 million barrels, topping the market forecast of 500,000 barrels. Distillate stockpiles increased by 4.884 million barrels while heating oil inventories rose by 356,000 barrels.

This comes after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that commercial inventories tumbled 1.92 million barrels. Gasoline stocks decreased by 2.95 million barrels, and distillates jumped by 2.34 million barrels.

Market observers are paying attention to two factors in the middle of the trading week.

First, China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% less than expected in June, and the producer price index (PPI) declined 0.8%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The numbers raised concerns that demand in the world’s second-largest economy could be tepid.

Second, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) left its growth forecasts for global oil demand intact. The cartel anticipates demand will grow by 2.2 million barrels per day, reaching 104.5 million barrels per day in 2024.

In other energy commodities, August natural gas futures slipped $0.022, or 0.93%, to $2.338 per million British thermal units (Btu). August gasoline futures shed $0.0136, or 0.51%, to $2.5145 a gallon. August heating oil futures dropped $0.012, or 0.48%, to $2.5116 per gallon.