Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after data showed a marked drop in U.S. crude stockpiles, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery added 2.06 U.S. dollars, or 2.7 percent, to settle at 78.29 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for February delivery gained 2.21 dollars, or nearly 2.8 percent, to settle at 82.2 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Wednesday that the country's crude oil inventories decreased by 5.9 million barrels during the week ending Dec. 16. Analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights had expected a rise of 0.6 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies.
According to the EIA, total motor gasoline inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels last week, while distillate fuel inventories fell by 0.2 million barrels.