Crude climbed to near a four-year high as Iran’s dwindling presence in global markets overshadowed the steepest gain in U.S. oil stockpiles since March 2017.
Futures rose 1.6 percent in New York on Wednesday, erasing early-morning losses. Crude inventories in the world’s largest economy increased at five times the pace predicted in a Bloomberg survey, fueled in part by rising imports and a dip in foreign demand for American oil. Impending U.S. sanctions are scaring buyers away from Iranian cargoes, heightening concern about a worldwide supply squeeze.
