Oil rises after US inventories draw, optimism of economic recovery

TOKYO (Reuters) – Crude oil futures rose on Wednesday after a more-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles and as solid U.S. factory data raised optimism of a post-pandemic economic recovery, boosting risk appetite among investors.

Brent crude futures were up 33 cents at $45.91 a barrel as of 0034 GMT, extending gains into a third day.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 33 cents to $43.09, following the previous day’s gain by 15 cents.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels in the week to Aug. 28 to about 501.2 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a draw of 1.9 million barrels.