Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday as rising tensions in the Middle East raised the possibility of a near-term supply disruption. Oil prices rose despite data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. rose by 3.5 million barrels in the week ended February 16th, compared with forecasts for a rise of 3.9 million barrels. Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles were down by 294,000 barrels last week, substantially down from an expected drop of 2.1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles declined 4 million barrels in the week, more than twice the expected drop of 1.7 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery rose $0.70 or 0.9% to settle at $78.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery surged $0.64 or 0.77% to $83.67 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.