Brent pulls back from near $70/b; IEA crude inventory drop, products build

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – Crude oil futures eased from fresh seven-week highs Wednesday, following volatile trading in the immediate aftermath of the latest inventory data from the US EIA

Brent futures for July hit a high of $69.95/b as crude oil stocks saw a drop of 8 million barrels, more than treble analyst expectations of a 2.34-million barrel draw.

But prices retreated as the same EIA report revealed a gasoline build of 700,000 barrels, against expectations of a 700,000-barrel draw.

Distillate stocks fell by 2.9 million barrels over the week ending April 30, far more than the 1.1 million barrel draw expected.

At 1600 GMT Brent futures for July were trading $69.35/b, up $0.47/b from Tuesday's settle of $68.88/b.

At the same time June WTI was trading $0.27/b higher at $65.96/b, having hit an intraday high of $66.76/b.

Oil prices had been firmer throughout the day on growing optimism over US and European demand growth.