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Industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) said on
Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 1.3 million
barrels last week, following three weeks of withdrawals. [API/S]
If that is confirmed by EIA figures due at 11 a.m EDT (1500
GMT), it could mean U.S. shale oil production has begun to
recover after a brief period of contraction, adding extra
pressure to prices.
"The market is trying to anticipate what's going to happen
tonight," Phillips Futures analyst Daniel Ang said.
Front-month Brent was up 20 cents at $62.26 a barrel by
1135 GMT. U.S. crude futures were unchanged from their last
settlement at $57.51 per barrel.
Analysts said in a Reuters poll on Wednesday that crude stocks
in the United States probably fell by 900,000 barrels last week,
dropping for a fourth straight week. [EIA/S]
U.S. crude received some support from the start of the summer
driving season and raging Canadian wildfires that forced the
evacuation of several oil and gas sands production sites.
The fires have caused energy companies operating in Alberta, the
largest source of U.S. oil imports, to shut in 233,000 barrels
per day of production, or roughly 10 percent of total Canadian
oil sands output.
Investors kept a close eye on the dollar, which stabilised
against the euro. A weaker dollar makes fuel less expensive for
holders of other currencies.
The dollar has risen more than 4 percent against a basket of
currencies over the last 10 days, helping accelerate a fall in
oil prices from a five-month high early in May.
But the surge in the U.S. currency paused on Thursday,
encouraging some oil buying, traders and analysts said.
"Much depends on the U.S. dollar," said Carsten Fritsch, senior
oil and commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"If the dollar resumes its rise, oil will probably test new lows
again," Fritsch added.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein and Florence Tan in
Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Evans)
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