SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories.

Crude oil for September delivery CLU24, , the new front-month contract, rose 73 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $103.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil futures have been up for four of the latest six sessions.

The contract had traded around $102.57 a barrel before the Energy Information Administration said crude inventories declined 4 million barrels in the week ended July 18, more than the 2.6-million-barrel drop that analysts polled by Platts had expected.

The EIA said gasoline supplies added 3.4 million barrels in the week, while distillates, which include heating oil, increased 1.6 million barrels. The analysts surveyed by Platts had expected gasoline supplies up 1.2 million barrels, while distillate supplies were seen up 1.8 million barrels.

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The report follows one from the American Petroleum Institute, which said late Tuesday that crude-oil inventories declined 600,000 barrels in the week ended July 18. The API also said distillates inventories rose 2.5 million barrels, while gasoline supplies added 3.6 million barrels, according to reports.

With the EIA report out of the way, the focus of traders can turn back to geopolitical tensions, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

Earlier Wednesday, two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down near the area where a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was hit.

“This is clearly a negative news for crude when it comes to the global growth story as putting sanctions could strain the growth not only in Russia but also in Europe and in the U.S.,” Aslam added. “However, in the short term, it could lift the crude price higher as Russia is the biggest source of energy for Europe.”

September Brent crude UK:LCOU4 on London’s ICE Futures exchange advanced 70 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $108.03 a barrel. That was Brent’s highest settlement in nearly two weeks.

Natural-gas for August delivery US:NGQ14 hit a fresh eight-month low, ending Wednesday down a penny, or 0.3%, to $3.7620 per million British thermal units. Natural-gas futures are down for five straight sessions as mild summer weather has dented demand expectations.

Meanwhile, gasoline for August delivery US:RBQ4 lost 2 cents, or 0.7%, to end at $2.8601 a gallon on Nymex. Heating oil for August delivery US:HOQ4 rose 2 cents to settle at $2,8754 a gallon on Nymex.

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