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Brent futures eased by 47 cents, or 0.6%, to $76.65 a barrel at
0840 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
were down 44 cents, or 0.6%, at $72.09.
The benchmarks had firmed in the previous session as U.S. corn
and soybean prices raced to multi-month highs, raising
expectations that crop shortfalls could lower biofuels blending
and increase oil demand.
However, the market was cautious after Fed Chair Jerome Powell
said two more interest rate hikes of 25 basis points each by the
end of the year was "a pretty good guess".
The Bank of England is expected to raise rates for a 13th time
at 1100 GMT in the face of stubbornly strong inflation.
Higher interest rates could slow economic growth and reduce oil
demand.
Oil prices held on to most of the previous session's gains as
the market kept a lookout for fresh drivers, such as official
U.S. oil inventory data due at 1430 GMT [EIA/S] and Chinese
factory activity data due next week.
In a preliminary indicator, industry data showed U.S. crude oil
inventories fell by about 1.2 million barrels last week, defying
forecasts for a build of 300,000 barrels. [API/S]
Meanwhile, an executive at U.S. shale producer EOG Resources
said oil prices could rise as muted increases in U.S. oil
production and cuts by OPEC+ producers will limit supply in the
months ahead.
"With demand seasonally rising over the coming months, we expect
larger oil inventory declines to become visible and support oil
prices," said UBS strategist Giovanni Staunovo.
(Reporting by Shadia NasrallaAdditional reporting by Jeslyn
LerhEditing by David Goodman)
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