By Bryan Wong
Investing.com - Oil was up on Wednesday morning in Asia, with the American Petroleum Institute (API) forecasting a larger than expected inventory draw.
API figures released on Tuesday showed a larger than expected draw in crude inventories for the week to Aug. 7, with an actual draw of 4.4 million barrel versus a 3.2-million-barrel forecast.
WTI futures rose 0.38% to $41.77 by 11:47 PM ET (4:47 AM GMT) and Brent oil futures rose 0.52% to $44.73.
Also supporting oil prices, Russia announced the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine. President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that a locally developed vaccine for COVID-19, Sputnik-V, has been given regulatory approval after less than two months of testing on humans.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on the same day that the vaccine had "proven to be highly effective and safe" and that mass vaccination is planned in October, inflating investor hopes of a fuel demand recovery in one of the world's largest producers.
Meanwhile, there are also signs that the White House will be taking more measures to help the U.S. economy recover. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is considering cutting capital gains taxes and lowering income taxes for middle-income families, which also boosted oil prices.