Oil prices rose on Thursday, helped by a drop in U.S. crude inventories amid higher refinery runs and a surge in Chinese imports last month, supporting expectations of higher demand in the world's two biggest oil consumers.
Brent crude futures for July delivery were up 64 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $84.22 a barrel by 0033 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June were up 66 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $79.65 a barrel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude inventories fell last week by 1.4 million barrels to 459.5 million barrels, more than analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel drop. Stockpiles fell as refinery activity increased by 307,000 barrels per day during the week.
This led to a rise in gasoline stocks by more than 900,000 barrels to 228 million barrels, while distillate stocks, which include fuel oil and heating oil, increased by 600,000 barrels to 116.4 million barrels.
Customs data released on Thursday showed crude shipments to China, the world's largest oil importer, in April reached 44.72 million tonnes, equivalent to 10.88 million barrels per day, up 5.45 percent from a year earlier.
Hopes for a ceasefire in the Middle East, after the United States said earlier in the week that differences between Israel and Hamas could be overcome through negotiations, prevented oil prices from rising further.
