WTI rises to near $63.00 on large US inventories drawdown

• WTI price gains traction to near $63.00 in Thursday's early European session.
• EIA showed US crude inventories fell by 6 million barrels last week. 
• Oil traders will closely monitor talks on the Ukraine peace deal. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $63.00 during the early European trading hours on Thursday. The WTI climbs as US crude inventories fell more than expected. Traders will closely monitor developments surrounding talks to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now.

US crude inventories are experiencing a sharp decline that exceeded expectations, signaling stable demand in the world's largest oil consumer. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending August 15 fell 6.014 million barrels, compared to a rise of 3.036 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would decrease by 1.3 million barrels.

"Crude oil prices rebounded as signs of strong demand in the U.S. boosted sentiment," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ.

Furthermore, uncertainty over efforts to end the war in Ukraine also lends support to the WTI price. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine but said the country might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in the country. 

Russia warned that resolving security issues without Moscow's involvement is a "road to nowhere." Analysts expect oil prices to decline once a peace deal is reached, but any continued lack of concrete progress in negotiations could underpin the WTI price.