U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are inching higher early Thursday, following yesterday’s surge. Prices rose on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. inventories, shaking off worries about the likely hit to economic activity from the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. U.S. inventories fell more than expected, with crude oil stocks down by 4.7 million barrels, though that is in part due to year-end tax considerations that encourage companies not to store crude barrels.