Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday after data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed large declines in gasoline and distillate stockpiles in the week ended March 2nd. Data from EIA showed gasoline stocks dropped by 4.5 million barrels last week, nearly three times the expected decline of 1.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down 4.1 million barrels in the week, substantially larger than an expected decline of 665,000 barrels. However, data from EIA showed crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels last week, less than an expected increase of 2.1 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery rose $0.98 or about 1.25% to settle at $79.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery was up by $0.92 or about 1.12% to $82.96 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.