Oil goes up because US crude stocks are expected to fall, but worries about OPEC+ keep gains in check.
API data shows that the US has less crude oil and more fuel.
In early Asian trading on Wednesday, oil prices went up because U.S. crude stocks were thought to be going down. However, gains were limited by worries that OPEC+ would not change its output policy at its next meeting.
By 01:32 GMT, Brent crude futures had gone up 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $83.68 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went up 68 cents, or 0.9%, to $78.88 per barrel.
Market sources cited figures from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, which showed that crude oil stocks in the U.S. fell by 7.9 million barrels in the week ending November 25. Prices rose as a result of this. Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that gasoline stocks went up by about 2.9 million barrels and distillate stocks by about 4 million barrels.
Related: Oil prices will lose gains in 2022 because of China’s protests, which make people worried about demand.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release official numbers on Wednesday.
The market was also keeping an eye on the meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, such as Russia. This meeting is called OPEC+.
At a meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ is likely to keep its oil production policy the same, according to five OPEC+ sources. However, two sources said that an additional production cut was likely to be considered to help lower prices.
Slowing economies and Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns are hurting oil demand, while a ban on Russian crude imports by the EU and a price cap on Russian crude by the G7 are making people wonder about supply.
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says that Russia’s oil production will drop by about 2 million barrels per day by the end of the first quarter of next year.
