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Brent crude futures for May were down 3 cents to $85.92 a barrel
by 0929 GMT. They fell by 1.6% on Wednesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for May were down 10 cents,
or 0.1%, to $81.17 a barrel after a fall of about 1.8% in the
previous session.
Crude inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil
consumer, fell for a second week, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday.
Stockpiles unexpectedly declined by 2 million barrels to 445
million barrels in the week ended March 15, as exports rose and
refiners continued to increase activity. Analysts polled by
Reuters had expected a 13,000-barrel rise. [EIA/S]
"It seems that the bullish mantra is still intact, with yet
another unexpected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories last week
while market participants continue to price for the risks of
further supply disruption on the Russia-Ukraine front, said Yeap
Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
Gasoline inventories fell for a seventh week, down 3.3 million
barrels to 230.8 million, suggesting steady strong fuel demand.
Oil refinery runs ramped up by 127,000 barrels per day and
utilization rates rose.
Investors also took heart from the U.S. central bank, which held
interest rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.50% on Wednesday, but
kept to an outlook for three rate cuts this year.
Lower rates could boost economic growth, in good news for oil
sales.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries also prompted investors
to trade crude at higher prices, factoring in that the strikes
could hit global petroleum supplies.
Ukrainian drones have targeted at least seven Russian refineries
this month. The attacks have shut down 7%, or around 370,500
barrels per day, of Russian refining capacity, according to
Reuters calculations.
Analysts say prolonged disruptions could force Russian producers
to reduce supply if they are unable to export crude oil and face
storage constraints.
Elsewhere, Germany's economic downturn eased slightly in March
as business activity in the service sector came close to
stabilizing, a preliminary survey showed on Thursday.
(Reporting by Emily Chow and Jeslyn Lerh and Paul Carsten in
London; editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jason Neely)
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