Oil prices surged on Wednesday, extending gains following a significant drawdown in US inventory data.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a sharp decrease of 12.2 million barrels in US crude stocks last week, bringing the total to 448.5 million barrels. Analysts had anticipated a much smaller drop of 0.4 million barrels.
Additionally, gasoline stocks declined by 2.2 million barrels to 231.7 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels to 119.7 million barrels.
The EIA also reported that US crude stocks at 13.2 million barrels remained unchanged last week, but oil demand increased by 385 thousand barrels per day (bpd).
In trading, Brent September futures rose 1.3%, or $1.10, to $87.34 per barrel. US crude August stocks closed up 1.3%, or $1.07, at $83.88 per barrel.