West Texas Intermediate futures for February delivery climbed to $37.75 (+0.67%), while Brent crude advanced to $37.71 (+0.94%) after sharp gains in the previous session. The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels in the week ending December 18. Economists had expected a 1.1 million barrels gain.

Nevertheless fundamentals remain unfavorable for oil, because the market is still oversupplied and a one-week decline in U.S. crude inventories does not change the general situation.