Oil continued to rise after U.S. crude inventories fell the most since December, signaling a near-term supply squeeze.

West Texas Intermediate was trading near $70 a barrel after closing 0.9% higher on Wednesday, while Brent settled below $74. U.S. stockpiles fell by 3.34 million barrels last week, the lowest in a month, while gasoline inventories also fell, government data showed.

Oil has been on an upward trend since early March as sanctions and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump raised the prospect of supply disruptions from producers including Iran and Venezuela. That prompted traders to buy bullish oil options to protect themselves from price spikes. (Newsmaker23)

Source: Bloomberg