Oil gained more than 1% on US stock draw and geopolitical tensions

Oil prices advanced on Wednesday, supported by a larger-than-expected fall in US crude inventories and renewed geopolitical risks.

Brent crude futures gained 83 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $68.05 a barrel.

WTI rose 90 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.15. Both benchmarks had lost more than 2% in the previous session.

US Energy Information Administration data showed crude stocks declined by 2.4 million barrels last week, compared with expectations for a 1.9 million-barrel draw. Distillate inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels, defying forecasts for a build, while gasoline stocks slipped by 1.2 million barrels, less than the projected 2.2 million-barrel draw.

Market sentiment was further influenced by Washington’s decision to double tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% in response to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude. At the same time, hostilities between Russia and Ukraine escalated with fresh strikes on energy infrastructure, adding to supply concerns. Moscow, however, raised its August crude export plan from western ports by 200,000 barrels per day.

Written: Aiman Haikal