Oil gains after stockpile draw amid hopes for coronavirus vaccine

Oil futures rose on Wednesday after an industry report showed that US crude inventories fell by more than expected as prices continued to be supported by news of successful trials of a vaccine for coronavirus.

Brent crude was up 31 cents, or 0.7%, at $43.92 a barrel by 0213 GMT, while US oil gained 36 cents, or 0.9%, to $41.72 a barrel.

Crude stockpiles fell by 5.1 million barrels last week to about 482 million barrels, industry group data showed on Tuesday, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a reduction of 913,000 barrels.

“Defying analysts’ expectations again, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a significant ‘draw’ in crude oil inventories,” said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AXI.