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Brent crude <LCOc1> futures were up 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.87
a barrel by 1100 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude <CLc1> futures rose 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $40.01 per
barrel.
Both benchmarks traded lower earlier in the session.
On Wednesday, prices climbed slightly after government data
showed U.S. oil inventories fell last week.
Crude stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels, gasoline by 4 million
barrels, and distillate stockpiles posted a surprise drawdown of
3.4 million barrels.
Still, fuel demand in the U.S. remains subdued as the pandemic
limits travel. The four-week average of gasoline demand was 8.5
million barrels per day (bpd) last week, the government data
showed, down 9% from a year earlier.
"The current economic and oil backdrop is anything but
encouraging and this capped the attempted rally," Tamas Varga of
oil brokerage PVM said.
The jitters over demand and economic outlook due to the
coronavirus resurgence have spurred a rally in the dollar as
investors turned to safer assets, adding pressure on oil prices.
A stronger dollar makes oil less attractive to buyers using
other currencies.
Prices were also capped by data showing a cooling of U.S.
business activity in September, the stalemate in the U.S.
Congress over more fiscal stimulus and U.S. Federal Reserve
officials flagging concerns about a stalling recovery
In Europe, Britain, Germany and France imposed new restrictions
to stem new coronavirus infections - all factors affecting the
fuel demand outlook.
On the supply side, the market remains wary of a resumption of
exports from Libya, although it is unclear how quickly it can
ramp up volumes.
(Additional reporting by Sonali Paul and Koustav Samanta;
editing by Mark Heinrich and Jason Neely)
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