Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday as data showed a drop in US crude inventories in the week ended November 27. Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the US dropped by 0.679 million barrels last week. The EIA data also showed Distillate stockpiles were up 3.238 million barrels in the week, as against expectations for a 0.209 million barrel drop. Besides, positive updates on the vaccine front contributed as well to oil's uptick. The U.K. has approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The vaccine is expected to be rolled out next week.
Crude oil futures for January rose $0.73 or 1.6 percent to settle at $45.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude gained $0.78 or1.65 percent to settle at $48.20 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.