Crude oil prices gained in Asia early Thursday, carrying gains overnight from a bullish supply report and supported by geopolitical tensions.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in September traded at $103.22 a barrel, up 0.18%, after hitting an overnight session low of $101.80 a barrel and a high of $103.33 a barrel.

Brent oil on the ICE futures exchange rose 0.7% to $108.03 a barrel on Wednesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 4.0 million barrels in the week ended July 18, well beyond expectations for a decline of 2.8 million barrels.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 371.1 million barrels as of last week.

The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels, above forecasts for a gain of 1.3 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 1.6 million barrels, below expectations for an increase of 2.1 million barrels.

That boosted oil prices by fueling sentiments that demand is on the rise even in an economy that is awash in crude.

Geopolitical concerns kept prices higher as well.