Oil prices were largely steady on Wednesday, paring gains and briefly turning negative, after crude inventories in the United States rose to a record high.
Information released by the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose 1.5 million barrels last week, less than forecast, but touching a record high at 520.2 million barrels after eight straight weekly increases.
At noon hour ET Wednesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for April delivery was down 12 cents at $53.89 U.S.
Even so, oil prices remained locked within a tight trading range. Rising U.S. production has tempered expectations that the market will re-balance as evidence emerges that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are complying with an agreement to cut production.
A survey found that OPEC reduced its oil output for a second month in February, showing the exporter group has boosted already strong compliance to around 94%.
Heftier cuts by Saudi Arabia and Angola helped offset weaker compliance by other members that agreed to limit their output. However, oil production in Russia, which pledged to cut its oil output by 300,000 barrels per day under an agreement with OPEC, fell in February to around 11.1 million bpd from over 11.2 million bpd in October.
