Oil futures rose slightly on Thursday after a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories was offset by a sharp drawdown in refined oil and gasoline stockpiles, and a weaker dollar. The front-month in WTI rose 0.35 percent to $53.85 a barrel. The front-month in Brent crude futures closed down 0.38 percent to $56.14 a barrel. The spread between the two benchmarks stood at $2.29a barrel. (The update will suspend publishing during the New Year holiday. The issue on January 3rd will introduce the market in the previous trading session.)

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