May 18, 2024 10:53 p.m.

Oil market hit 4-month highs on US inventory data, Russian refinery attacks

International benchmarks for crude oil surged by nearly 3% on Wednesday, 13 March 2024 following a report from the EIA showing a larger-than-expected draw in US gasoline and commercial crude oil inventories.

Title

Available in

International benchmarks for crude oil surged by nearly 3% on Wednesday, 13 March 2024 following a report from the EIA showing a larger-than-expected draw in US gasoline and commercial crude oil inventories. Also, the market priced in the possible supply interruptions following Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Rosneft plant.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed the US drew 5.7 million barrels of motor gasoline inventories in the week to 8 March 2024 despite higher operating rates among refineries. The figures stoke fear among market participants over an undersupplied market heading into the peak demand season.

Brent futures increased by $2.11 or 2.6% to settle at $84.03/barrel.

WTI surged by $2.16 or 2.8% to settle at $79.72/barrel.