MUSCAT : With the United States ramping up efforts to restrict Venezuelan oil exports and a sharper-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories fueling optimism, Brent crude futures rose by 20 cents (0.3%) to settle at $73.22 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 20 cents (0.4%) to $69.20 a barrel. Both benchmarks had hit three-week highs in the previous trading session.

Supporting the uptick, data from the American Petroleum Institute revealed that U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels in the week ending March 21, suggesting robust fuel demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

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