FX.co ★ Oil Futures Settle Sharply Higher As Crude, Gasoline Inventories Drop

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, lifted by data showing declines in crude and gasoline inventories in the U.S. in the week ended August 12th.

Meanwhile, the European Union and United States said they were studying Iran's response to what the EU has called its "final" proposal to save a 2015 nuclear deal.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.58 or about 1.8% at $88.11 a barrel.

Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. dropped by 7.1 million barrels last week, nearly three times the expected drop.

The data showed gasoline inventories fell 4.6 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles

The American Petroleum Institute (API) Tuesday reported a draw for crude oil stocks of 448,000 barrels for the week ended Aug.12, while analysts predicted a smaller draw of 117,000 barrels.

The draw came as the Department of Energy released 3.4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves during the week.