Oil extended gains in early Asian trading on Thursday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories suggested stronger demand, while potential supply disruptions following Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries also supported prices.
price movement
By 0432 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $84.18 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 11 cents, or 0.14 percent, at $79.83 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rose about 3 percent to a four-month high on Wednesday on expectations of stronger U.S. demand and rising geopolitical risks.
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refining facilities continued for a second day on Wednesday, causing a fire at Rosneft's largest refinery in one of the most serious attacks on Russia's energy sector in recent months.
Russian officials said that the day after a Lukoil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod was badly damaged, Ukrainian drones targeted refineries in the Rostov and Ryazan regions.
In Ryazan, a drone attack caused a fire at a Rosneft refinery. The refinery was forced to shut down two major oil refining units, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries on Wednesday in an interview with state media that his country was technically prepared for nuclear war.
On the demand side, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories fell unexpectedly as refinery runs rose and gasoline stocks fell amid strong demand ahead of the summer season when consumption increases.
The administration added that crude inventories ended a six-week streak of gains, falling by 1.5 million barrels to 447 million barrels in the week ended March 8, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel increase.
Gasoline stocks also fell for the sixth straight week, falling 5.7 million barrels to 234.1 million barrels, three times expectations for a 1.9 million-barrel decline.
