Oil rises after industry report points to massive inventory draw

​Oil resumed a rally after an industry estimate pointed to a huge drawdown in U.S. inventories, adding to signals the market is tightening.

West Texas Intermediate climbed near US$82 a barrel, though pared an earlier gain of as much as 1.3 per cent. The American Petroleum Institute reported that nationwide crude stockpiles plunged 15.4 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the figures. If confirmed by government data later Wednesday, that would be the biggest draw in volume terms in figures going back to 1982.

The API estimates also pointed to another drop in crude holdings at the key storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, as well as declines in inventories of gasoline and distillates.