Oil prices extended their gains on Thursday (March 14), after US crude oil inventories unexpectedly fell, indicating rising demand. Additionally, potential supply disruptions following Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries also supported oil prices.

At the close of trading on March 14, Brent crude futures rose by 10 cents (equivalent to 0.12%) to $84.13 per barrel. WTI crude futures added 7 cents (equivalent to 0.09%) to $79.79 per barrel.

Both crude contracts increased by 3% to their highest levels in 4 months on March 13 due to higher demand prospects in the US and escalating geopolitical risks.

Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian refineries continued on March 13, causing a fire at Rosneft's largest refinery. This is one of the most severe attacks on Russia's energy sector in recent months.

After causing significant damage to Lukoil's refinery in Nizhny Novgorod on March 12, Ukraine attacked refineries in the Rostov and Ryazan regions.

On the demand side, US crude oil inventories unexpectedly declined due to increased refining activity and reduced gasoline inventories amid strong demand ahead of the summer driving season, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

US crude oil inventories ended six consecutive weeks of gains, decreasing by 1.5 million barrels to 447 million barrels in the week ending March 8, completely contrary to the forecasted increase of 1.3 million barrels by analysts polled by Reuters.

Gasoline inventories fell for the sixth consecutive week, dropping by 5.7 million barrels to 234.1 million barrels, three times the expected decrease of 1.9 million barrels.

Motor fuel inventories at the US Gulf Coast fell to their lowest level since November 2022, while finished motor gasoline supplies, an indicator of demand, increased by 30,000 barrels per day to over 9 million barrels per day for the first time this year.

Source: Vietstock