Oil Surges After Record U.S. Fuel Supply Drop From Deep Freeze - Oil Prices for Mar. 03, 2021: Brent Crude, WTI - Bloomberg

Oil Surges After Record U.S. Fuel Supply Drop From Deep Freeze Oil Prices for Mar. 03, 2021: Brent Crude, WTI - Bloomberg

Oil jumped the most in more than a week after a U.S. government report showed a record drop in domestic fuel inventories from the aftermath of a deep freeze that shuttered refineries in several states.

Crude futures in New York climbed 2.6% on Wednesday, snapping a three-day streak of losses. U.S. gasoline inventories tumbled last week by the most since 1990 after a polar blast wiped out more than 5 million barrels a day of refining capacity in late February along the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to Energy Information Administration data. Crude stockpiles swelled with refineries still shut.

“The market expected some noise from the storm’s lingering effects,” said Matt Sallee, portfolio manager at Tortoise, a firm that manages roughly $8 billion in energy-related assets. “Absent the magnitude of the changes, things came in pretty much as expected with the enormous product draw more than offsetting the record crude build.”

The U.S. data also showed gasoline supplied, a gauge for demand, surged the most since May, supporting those who say the oil market needs more barrels from producers as OPEC+ heads into a meeting on Thursday. The group is poised to agree on a coordinated production hike to cool the rapid surge in crude prices.

PRICES

• West Texas Intermediate for April delivery rose $1.53 to settle at $61.28 a barrel
• Brent for May settlement climbed $1.37 to end the session at $64.07 a barrel