Crude oil inventories in the United States declined last week by more than expected, data showed on Wednesday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly reported showed that crude oil stockpiles decreased by 8 million barrels in the week ending on January 1 to a total of 485.5 million barrels.
This is the biggest weekly decline since August.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories increased by 4.5 million barrels last week, recording its biggest rise since April, and distillate stockpiles went up by 6.4 million barrels.