Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended March 8th. Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the U.S. dropped by 1.5 million barrels last week. Gasoline stockpiles dropped by about 5.7 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a decline of 1.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks increased by 888,000 barrels, as against expectations of a 150,000-barrel decline. Besides, supply disruptions in Russia due to continued attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian oil refineries contributed as well the rise in oil prices.
Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery rose $2.16 or about 2.8% to settle at $79.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery surged by $2.11 or about 2.57% to $84.03 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.