Oil gains as US crude stockpiles rise less than forecast

US oil inventories rose again last week, though the increase was less than the market had expected, pushing crude prices higher on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude supplies expanded by just 1.3m barrels in the week ended 10 April, well below the predicted climb of 3.5m.

Nevertheless, total stockpiles stood at 483.7m barrels, the highest in at least 80 years.

In a separate report on Wednesday, the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for oil demand per day by 90,000 barrels due to cold temperatures in the first quarter amid a steadily improving global economy. Oil demand will increase 1.1m barrels a day in 2015, a "notable acceleration" on the 700,000-a-day rate seen in 2014.

However, it warned that the outlook for the market is becoming “murkier” as conditions were “constantly changing”.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery were up 3.6% at $55.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange following the report. Brent crude rose 2.2% to $61.12 a barrel.