Oil holds biggest gain in five weeks after US stockpiles decline

Oil held the biggest gain in about five weeks after US crude stockpiles shrunk and Ukraine attacked another Russian refinery.

West Texas Intermediate futures traded below $80 a barrel after jumping 2.8% on Wednesday. Brent was steady near $84. US inventories dropped for the first time in seven weeks, while crude stockpiles at the storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, saw the first draw since early February.

Another Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian refinery heightened geopolitical tensions. The attack at Rosneft PJSC’s Ryazan plant near Moscow on Wednesday was the latest in a series of assaults on the nation’s processing facilities.

Crude is higher this year but prices remain in a tight trading band. Supply cuts from OPEC+ have been met with higher production from outside the group, while China’s demand concerns persist. The International Energy Agency will provide a snapshot of the market in its monthly report later Thursday.

Refined products, meanwhile, have been in focus with gains this year running ahead of crude’s slow-but-steady ascent. US gasoline futures are at the highest level in almost six months as fuel stockpiles decline.