© Reuters.
biedexmarkets.com — Oil prices rose in early U.S. trade on Wednesday as traders gauged a strong demand forecast from the OPEC producer group.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its outlook for global crude demand unchanged in a released on Tuesday. A from the International Energy Agency is due later this week.
Persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia — and fears over their potential impact on supplies — have also supported crude prices.
expiring in April had added 0.9% to $83.52 a barrel, while had advanced by 1.1% to $78.72 per barrel by 09:44 ET (14:44 GMT).
But gains were limited as markets continued to assess a hot U.S. inflation reading that further dented bets on imminent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Sticky inflation gives the U.S. central bank more cause to keep interest rates higher for longer — a trend that is expected to stymie economic activity and potentially curb oil demand in the coming months.
Meanwhile, data on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed U.S. grew by 8.5 million barrels in the week to February 9, much more than estimates for an increase of 2.6 million barrels. The API data usually heralds a similar trend from , which is due out on Wednesday.
The large build in overall inventories likely indicates that U.S. production remained strong in the past week. High U.S. production has been a pain point for oil prices, given that it is likely to keep markets well supplied despite moves by OPEC and its allies to reduce output.
U.S. oil production roared back to record highs of over 13 million barrels earlier in February, as the impact of a cold snap showed signs of easing.
