WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised upward its global demand growth forecast, and attack on Russian oil refineries raised supply concerns.
Oil continued to find support from the Energy Information Administration's data that showed crude inventories dropped by 1.5 million barrels last week. The EIA data showed gasoline stockpiles dropped by about 5.7 million barrels, while distillate stocks increased by 888,000 barrels in the week.
West Texas International Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.54 or about 1.9% at $81.26 a barrel.
Brent crude futures gained $1.27 or about 1.5% at $85.30 a barrel.
It is estimated that the Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia have damaged around 12% of Russia's total oil-processing capacity.
The IEA revised global demand growth upward by 110,000 barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day total.
The IEA said in its report that oil demand this year will likely rise by 1.3 million barrels above 2023 levels.
The IEA attributed the upward revision to increased bunker fuel use caused by trade flow disruptions such as the Houti attacks on tankers in the Red Sea that led to longer shipping routes and faster vessel speeds.
The agency expects global supply for this year to grow by 800,000 bpd to 102.9 million bpd, including a downward adjustment to OPEC+ output. The IEA had forecast global oil supply at a record 103.8 million bpd in its February report.
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