•Global crude futures moved higher in European morning trading Thursday, extending Wednesday's gains on bullish commercial crude inventories in the US.

•Commercial crude stocks in the US increased by 1.1 million barrels in the week ended February 8, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. The build was lower than analysts' expectations of a 3.2 million barrel increase, and encouraged the complex to move higher despite sluggish demand indications and bearish products stocks.

•"If you take out of the picture a 2.5 million barrel build on the autonomous West Coast, then you end up with a crude draw of 1 million barrels in the main refining centers of the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and the East Coast," Michael Wittner, analyst at Societe Generale, said in a report.

Updated: February 14, 2008