Oil prices pulled back in Asian trading on Thursday, retreating from seven-week highs touched in the previous session as investors booked profits.
By 2:50 pm AEST (4:50 am GMT), Brent crude futures for December delivery slipped 27 cents, or 0.4%, to US$68.19 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 31 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.68 per barrel.
Both benchmarks had surged on Wednesday, with Brent up 1.3% and WTI rising 2.5% to their highest levels since 1 August.
The rally was underpinned by a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories and concern that Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure could further constrain supplies.
According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 607,000 barrels last week, compared with expectations for a build of 800,000 barrels.
ANZ analysts noted: "This was the second consecutive weekly decline, putting inventories at their lowest levels since January."
Meanwhile, oil flows from Iraqi Kurdistan are set to restart within days. On Wednesday, eight oil companies reached an agreement with Iraq’s federal and Kurdish regional governments to resume exports that had been halted.
