SINGAPORE: Oil futures extended gains in early Asian trade on Wednesday as US crude and gasoline inventories fell more than expected and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its 2015 oil demand growth forecast.
Front-month Brent crude futures rose 23 cents to $65.11 a barrel by 0154 GMT. US crude climbed 54 cents to $60.68 a barrel.
The gains came after prices for crude oil, gasoline and diesel jumped more than 3 percent on Tuesday as bullish investors made bets across the oil complex for another weekly drop in US stockpiles.
Crude oil prices rallied strongly overnight. US weekly crude oil inventories fell by a large 6.7 million barrels compared with expectations for a decline of less than 2 million barrels,” ANZ bank said in a morning note on Wednesday.
“US weekly gasoline stocks also fell according to API, with gasoline stocks falling by 3.87 million barrels vs a Reuters poll of analysts expecting an increase of 280,000 barrels,” it added.
