U.S. crude prices soared nearly 3 % on Wednesday in post settlement trading after U.S. inventory data showed what might be the largest weekly stock draw in over three decades.

Nationwide crude inventories plunged by 12.1 million barrels in the week to Sept 2, according to data released late Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute. If data released on Thursday from the U.S. government confirms the draw, it will be the largest one-week decline since April 1985.

U.S. crude jumped after the data release, rising by as much as 1.6 %, or 71 cents, over the next 20 minutes. It settled earlier up 67 cents at $45.50 a barrel, a third consecutive session of gains.

                                        Brent futures rose 72 cents to settle at $47.98 a barrel.
 Oil hit a one-week high on Monday after Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to cooperate on stabilising the oil market. Prices have since fallen due to uncertainty over a deal, particularly after a meeting in Doha in April among the world's largest producers to discuss output ended in failure.