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Brent for December delivery rose 63 cents to $48.48 a barrel by
0656 ET. The global crude benchmark finished down 86 cents, or
1.8 percent, on Wednesday, after hitting $47.50, its lowest
since early October.
U.S. crude for December delivery climbed 40 cents to $45.60 a
barrel, having settled down $1.09, or 2.4 percent, in the
previous session. It hit a three-week low of $44.86 on
Wednesday.
Oil prices came under renewed pressure from worries about a
global glut this week after U.S. crude inventories rose more
than twice what analysts had expected.
U.S. crude stocks surged sharply for a second week, climbing by
8 million barrels in the week to Oct. 16, data from the U.S.
government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on
Wednesday. [EIA/S]
However, analysts said investors may be re-evaluating the data.
"You would expect stock builds at this time of year, and we see
gasoline and distillate stockpiles falling for a second week
running," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index.
Gasoline stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels to 219.8 million,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for an
858,000-barrel drop, while distillate stockpiles also fell more
than expected.
Technical buyers were coming back into the market, he added.
"We are at an ideal area for bulls to step in after the
retracement from the lows" below $46 for Brent set on Sept. 15,
Razaqzada said.
Oil experts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and non-member nations made no agreement this week to
take steps to boost prices, officials said after talks in Vienna
on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Keith Wallis in Sinapore, editing by
William Hardy and Dale Hudson)
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