Oil rises on tight US stocks

Oil prices climbed for a fourth straight day and hit their highest in two and a half weeks on Thursday with US crude, heating oil and jet fuel stocks growing tighter just as a wintry blast hits the United States.

Brent crude futures gained $1.17, or 1.4 per cent, to trade at $83.37 at 1235 GMT, extending gains of around 2.7 per cent from the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.11, or 1.4 per cent, at $79.40 a barrel.

Both benchmark contracts jumped on Wednesday after government data showed US crude inventories fell by much more than analysts had expected, posting a drop of 5.89 million barrels for the week ending on December 16.

Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and jet fuel, also declined, going against expectations for a build, in what PVM analyst Stephen Brennock called "an overwhelmingly price-supportive stock report from the EIA".