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Brent crude futures were up 26 cents, or 0.3%, at $77.78 a
barrel by 0825 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures
rose 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.49.
Both contracts fell more than 1% on Tuesday to their lowest
settlement levels since early February, having declined by about
$3 a barrel on Monday.
The slide followed news from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies of plans to increase
supply from the fourth quarter despite recent signs of weakening
demand growth.
"The abundant supply picture at present undoubtedly is
generating queasiness even from those not in the perennial
OPEC-skeptic camp," RBC Capital's head of commodities research,
Helima Croft, said in a market note.
However, Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin
Salman has said OPEC+ would pause the unwinding of the cuts or
reverse them if demand wasn't strong enough to absorb the
barrels.
"The intention has always been to slow roll the barrels back in
and not to send the market into a tailspin with a supply surge,"
Croft said.
Prices drew some support from data showing that U.S. job
openings fell more than expected in April, which could help the
Federal Reserve's fight against inflation and strengthen the
case for cutting interest rates.
"Yesterday's U.S. job data hints at a softer labor market and a
September rate cut from the Fed," said PVM Oil analyst Tamas
Varga.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude stocks by increased more than 4 million
barrels in the week ended May 31, according to sources citing
American Petroleum Institute figures. [API/S]
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 2.3 million barrel
decline.
Gasoline stocks rose by more than 4 million barrels, twice the
build expected by analysts.
"Renewed inventory draws are needed to push oil prices higher,"
said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, who remains bullish on
expectations that oil supply growth would lag demand growth over
the coming months.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes official
stockpile data at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.
Data for last week is being closely watched by markets because
it reflects fuel usage around the Memorial Day holiday, the
start of the so-called U.S. driving season.
(Reporting by Deep Kaushik Vakil and Ahmad GhaddarAdditional
reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow in SingaporeEditing by
David Goodman)
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