WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, as data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended November 27.
Traders were also betting on hopes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other allies will agree on extending output cuts.
Positive updates on the vaccine front contributed as well to oil's uptick. The U.K. has approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The vaccine is expected to be rolled out next week.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.73 or about 1.6% at $45.28 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.78 or about 1.65% at $48.20 a barrel.
Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the U.S. dropped by 0.679 million barrels last week.
Distillate stockpiles were up 3.238 million barrels in the week, as against expectations for a 0.209 million barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories increased by 3.491 million barrels, beating expectations for a 2.386 million-barrel increase.
The American Petroleum Institute's weekly report late Tuesday showed that U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2.4-million barrel draw. There was a 3.8-million-barrel build in the previous week.
On Tuesday, the OPEC+ delayed any decision over plans on output cuts to Thursday following three key members failing to agree on how to proceed with production next year.
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