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Industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday
crude stocks fell by 4 million barrels, four times the forecast
decline. [API/S] The Energy Information Administration's
official figures are out at 1430 GMT.
"Coupled with the Fed decision on interest rates, today is sure
to be a heavy U.S.-centric session," said Stephen Brennock of
oil broker PVM.
Brent crude rose 91 cents, or 0.9%, to $105.31 a barrel at 0811
GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.16, or
1.2%, to $96.14.
"It looks the more vulnerable from a technical perspective, and
a large gain by official U.S. crude inventories tonight could
spark more selling," said Singapore-based analyst Jeffrey Halley
of brokerage OANDA, referring to WTI.
Oil has soared in 2022, reaching a 14-year high of $139 a barrel
in March after Russia's invasion of Ukraine added to supply
worries and as demand recovered from the pandemic.
Since then, concerns of economic slowdown and rising interest
rates have weighed, despite supply outages in Libya and Nigeria
and cuts in Russian gas flows to Europe.
Gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline fell to a fifth of
the pipeline's capacity on Wednesday, while Italy's Eni said it
will receive lower volumes from Russia's Gazprom.
Later on Wednesday the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to
announce an aggressive rate rise of 75 basis points, a prospect
that analysts said was limiting the rally.
A large rate hike would add to concern about the demand outlook
and a stronger dollar, which would make dollar-denominated
commodities more expensive for other currency holders.
(Addiitonal reporting by Emily Chow in Kuala Lumpur, Editing by
Louise Heavens)
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