Oil Rises as US Stocks Fall

Oil rose on Wednesday after plunging more than 2% in the previous session, as reports of falling US crude oil and fuel inventories refocused investors on robust demand in the world's top oil consumer.
Brent crude climbed by 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.17 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $77.55 a barrel, Reuters reported.
US crude oil stocks fell by about 6.1 million barrels in the week ended April 21, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Analysts had expected crude inventories to fall by about 1.5 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels last week, while distillate inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels, API reported. 
Official stockpiles data from the US government is due on Wednesday.
US crude oil stockpiles have been falling since the middle of March, as refineries have increased their runs to produce more gasoline ahead of the peak summer demand period that starts in May. 
This has pushed WTI futures prices into a backwardation, when prompt futures are higher than later dated futures, reflecting the higher refinery demand.