Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday amid skepticism over progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks following Russia continuing to attack some areas in Ukraine despite its promise to scale down military operations. Besides, data showing a bigger than expected drop in US crude stockpiles last week contributed as well to the jump in oil prices. Data released by US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed US crude stockpiles fell by a bigger-than-expected 3.4 million barrels last week, cutting inventories to 410 million barrels, the lowest levels since September 2018. Crude stockpiles were expected to drop by about 1 million barrels last week.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery surged $3.58 or 3.4 percent to settle at $107.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery gained $3.12 or 2.9 percent to settle at $113.35 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.