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Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $79.80 a barrel
by 0914 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 4
cents higher at $74.26.
"Oil concerns itself with the state of U.S. production this
morning and enters the day less buoyant than that of late," PVM
Oil analyst John Evans said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on
Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.9 million
barrels in the week to Dec. 15 to 443.7 million barrels,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3
million barrel drop.
The EIA said U.S. crude output rose to a record 13.3 million
barrels per day (bpd) last week, up from the previous all-time
high of 13.2 million bpd.
Both benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday for a third straight
session, as investors worried about trade disruptions as major
maritime carriers chose to steer clear of the Red Sea route,
with longer voyages increasing transport and insurance costs.
For shipping, about 12% of world traffic passes up the Red Sea
and through the Suez Canal. However, the impact on oil supply
has been limited so far, analysts said, because the bulk of
Middle East crude is exported via the Strait of Hormuz.
"We believe the disruptions are unlikely to have sustained
ramifications on energy ... as vessel redirection hampers global
supply chains, not volumetric production," MUFG analyst Ehsan
Khoman said.
He added that the additional costs incurred as the result of
longer journeys around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope "risks
fanning the flames of global inflation just as the Fed (U.S.
Federal Reserve) signalled it's preparing to cut rates in 2024".
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition imposing a price cap on
sea-borne Russian oil announced changes to its compliance regime
on Wednesday which the Treasury Department said would make it
harder for Russian exporters to bypass the cap.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Sudarshan Varadhan; editing by
Christian Schmollinger and Jason Neely)
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