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Brent crude futures for December were up 12 cents, or 0.1%, at
$93.64 a barrel by 1045 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude futures for December were up 37 cents, or 0.4%, at $85.69
a barrel.
A weaker U.S. dollar sent a bullish signal, making oil cheaper
for holders of other currencies.
But U.S. crude inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels in
the week ended Oct. 21, according to market sources citing
figures from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry
group, above expectations from five analysts polled by Reuters.
Official U.S. stockpile data from the government's Energy
Information Administration is due at 1430 GMT. [EIA/S]
Rising stockpiles reinforce fears of a global recession that
would further cut demand, weakness in which has also been
apparent in softer Chinese crude import data.
But ongoing supply constraints, highlighted by the International
Energy Agency's head warning of the "first truly global energy
crisis", gave prices a floor.
Saudi Aramco's CEO said there were many uncertainties ahead of
planned European embargoes on crude and refined products from
Russia, a member of the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia,
adding however that Russian oil still found buyers.
"OPEC production cuts effective November and the new EU
sanctions on Russian oil to be enforced from December should be
positive (for prices)," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI
Asset Management, told Reuters.
With respect to the wide WTI-Brent spread in recent sessions,
Innes added that WTI buyers are watching for any more
interventions by President Joe Biden ahead of the U.S. mid-term
elections on Nov. 8.
Biden announced a plan last week to sell off the rest of a
record release from the nation's emergency oil reserve by
year-end as he tries to dampen high gasoline prices.
Meanwhile Biden, facing criticism over high inflation, has
warned that Saudi Arabia would face consequences for aligning
with Russia and agreeing to reduce crude supply.
(Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Jeslyn
Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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