Oil prices edged higher during Asian trade on Wednesday, recovering slightly from two-month lows reached in the previous session, after data from an industry group showed a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles last week.
By 3:10 pm AEDT (4:10 am GMT) Brent crude futures added US$0.14 or 0.2%, to $73.16 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.18 per barrel.
Data from American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by 640,000 barrels for the week ending 21 February, compared to an expected build of 2.3 million barrels.
Meanwhile, official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected later on Wednesday, with analysts forecasting oil stockpiles to lift by 2.34 million barrels.
The stockpile decline helped counter concerns over rising global oil supply, which, along with weak economic data from the U.S. and Germany, had pushed oil prices down more than 2% on Tuesday.
Oil prices have also faced pressure amid concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which could weigh on economic growth.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients: “Earlier this week, the U.S. imposed more curbs on brokers, vessels and individuals that are said to be linked to illicit shipments of Iranian crude oil. These issues are likely to drive discussions with the OPEC+ alliance about whether it should delay planned production hikes.”
Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that the U.S. and Ukraine have reached terms on a draft minerals agreement, a key component of Trump’s strategy to rapidly resolve the war in Ukraine.
A resolution to the conflict could pave the way for additional Russian oil supply to enter global markets.
