Crude Oil Futures Higher Ahead Of Inventories Report

Crude oil futures are adding to early gains on signs of a pickup in U.S. crude oil demand and reports of a second day of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refining facilities. Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital notes the API report of an unexpected 5.5 million-barrel draw on U.S. crude stocks for last week supporting oil. The EIA is due to release its inventories report at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey predict crude stocks will be unchanged, with further drawdowns in gasoline and distillate fuels. WTI for April delivery is up 2.2% at $79.23 a barrel and May Brent rises 1.9% to $83.50 a barrel .