Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday buoyed by an upward revision in the global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA has sharply raised its world oil demand estimate for 2021, pointing to further signs that the global economy is recovering faster than previously expected, particularly in the US and China. The agency expects oil demand to grow 230,000 barrels a day faster than previously forecast. The IEA said world oil demand is now expected to expand by 5.7 million b/d in 2021 to 96.7 million b/d, following a collapse of 8.7 million b/d last year. Meanwhile, data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the US dropped by 5.9 million barrels last week compared with an expected draw of about 3.5 million barrels.
Crude oil futures for May rose $2.97 or 4.9 percent to settle at $63.15 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude gained $2.73 or 4.28 percent to settle at $66.40 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.