Investing.com – WTI crude oil prices Wednesday settled at their highest level since November 2014, supported by a massive draw in U.S. crude supplies, and unexpected supply outages in Libya and Canada.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for July delivery rose 3.2% to settle at $72.76 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent rose 1.42% to trade at $77.22 a barrel.
Inventories of U.S. crude fell by 9.891 million barrels for the week ended June 22, topping expectations for a draw of 2.572 million barrels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The drop in U.S. crude supplies – the largest since September 2016 – came as domestic crude exports rose to a record of 3 million barrels per day amid higher international demand and supply outages in both Libya and Canada.
A power struggle in Libya between rebels and the government has hampered the country's oil exports, while a production shutdown at Canada's Syncrude - which has capacity to produce 350,000 barrels per day of oil - continued to drain crude supply across North America.
Gasoline inventories – one of the products that crude is refined into – increased by 1.156 million barrels, just below expectations for a build of 1.313 million barrels, while supplies of distillate – the class of fuels that includes diesel and heating oil – rose by 0.015 million barrels, well below expectations for a build of 0.774 million barrels.
U.S. oil output, meanwhile, remained at a record 10.9 million bpd, according to the EIA.
Oil prices were also supported by ongoing expectations for a slump in Iranian crude exports following the United States warning to countries Tuesday to cease buying Iranian crude by Nov. 4.
Upcoming U.S. sanctions against Iran – OPEC's third largest producer – could see global crude supplies come under pressure as the Islamic Republic exports more than 2 million barrels of oil day.