Oil prices were strong today on a big draw in crude inventories despite the largest build in gasoline inventories in 6 months. Oil inventories declined by 4.7MM/bbls, while gasoline inventories rose by 5.5MM/bbls and distillate inventories rose by 400K/bbls. “We saw a drop in production, we saw inventories and crude fall, so that’s giving the market a supportive outlook,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “Because supplies are below average across the board, there’s not a lot of room for error.” Soaring natural gas prices in Europe is going to lead to increase switching to oil, and the incremental demand from that is expected to further dwindle global supplies. WTI traded up $1.64 or 2.31% to close at $72.76. Brent traded up $1.31 or 1.77% to close at $75.29.

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