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Brent futures were flat at $75.90 a barrel by 0929 GMT and U.S.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures edged up 6 cents, or
0.08%, to $71.25.
British inflation defied expectations that it would slow and
held at 8.7% in May, data showed on Wednesday, putting yet more
pressure on the BoE a day before it is forecast to raise
interest rates for the 13th time in a row.
"Countries are struggling to rein in inflation... and that's
going to dampen growth and threaten recessions across the
globe," said Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA.
The main market focus is on Fed officials due to speak later in
the day, with Chair Powell's congressional testimony on the
economy on Wednesday and Thursday the highlight.
Two Fed policymakers and an economist nominated to join them on
the central bank's Washington-based board on Tuesday said their
focus is on bringing down too-high inflation so that the U.S.
economy can get back to sustainable growth, which could bolster
oil demand.
However, should Powell prompt a hawkish return of rate cut
expectations, the U.S. dollar could see some support, ING
strategist Francesco Pesole said in a note.
A stronger U.S. dollar is bearish for oil as it makes
commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil prices drew some support from a possible drawdown in U.S.
crude stocks, with Reuters poll among five analysts estimating
that crude stockpiles fell by about 400,000 barrels on average
in the week to June 16.
Official U.S. oil inventory data from the American Petroleum
Institute industry group will be released later on Wednesday and
the Energy Information Administration on Thursday, with both
reports delayed by a day following the Juneteenth public holiday
on Monday. [EIA/S] [API/S]
(Reporting by Rowena Edwards, additional reporting by Katya
Golubkova in Tokyo and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Editing by
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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