Oil prices in New York have risen after a US oil inventory report showed lower supplies at a crucial trading hub.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery advanced 67 US cents on Wednesday to finish trade at $US100.37 ($A110.33) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
European benchmark Brent oil for May delivery fell 94 US cents to $US105.85 a barrel in London.
Analysts attributed the rise in US prices to the Department of Energy's (DoE) weekly oil inventory report, which showed supplies at the crucial Cushing, Oklahoma, trading hub falling by 200,000 barrels to 29.8 million barrels.
That compared with supplies of 49 million barrels at Cushing a year ago.
"Stocks have drawn down fairly considerably at Cushing," said Andy Lebow, a senior vice president of energy derivatives at Jefferies Bache.
"There's less supply, so you're going to have to pay a premium for spot barrels."
The DoE report painted a mixed picture on crude supplies.
While supplies fell at Cushing, overall US supplies rose by 5.9 million barrels, more than the 2.3 million barrels expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswire.
The gain in WTI came on the heels of a big jump in US oil prices Tuesday due in part to news of higher pipeline capacity to move crude from Cushing to Gulf Coast refineries.
The US Federal Reserve Wednesday decided to continue to trim back its stimulus program by $US10 billion, as expected. Analysts said the oil market did not move signifcantly on the Fed news.
