03:07 PM EDT, 10/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US commercial crude stockpiles shrank more than expected last week, providing a boost to oil prices ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Inventories of crude, excluding the strategic petroleum reserve, fell by 6.9 million barrels to 416 million barrels through the week ended Friday, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

The consensus was for a draw of 899,000 barrels last week in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Motor gasoline stocks dropped by 5.9 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories declined by 3.4 million barrels. Both gasoline and distillate fuel output fell last week, the EIA said.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.9% at $60.70 a barrel in Wednesday afternoon trade, rebounding following a two-day slump. Brent rose 1% to $64.44, after three consecutive sessions of losses.

Trump is scheduled to discuss trade and other issues with Xi in South Korea on Thursday.

Tensions between the two largest economies of the world flared up recently after China expanded export controls on rare earths, but the standoff has apparently eased.

This improving US-China sentiment is partly driving oil prices higher, D.A. Davidson said in a report on Wednesday.

Trump reportedly said on Monday that the two sides are expected to "come away with" a trade deal.