Oil prices were back on an even keel after earlier losses on Wednesday, driven by fears that more aggressive U.S. interest rate hikes would hit demand, while the market awaited further clarity on inventories.
Brent crude futures climbed 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $83.40 per barrel Wednesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures eased nine cents, or 0.1%, to $77.49 a barrel.
Both Brent and WTI fell by more than 3% on Tuesday after comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that the central bank would likely need to raise interest rates more than expected in response to recent strong data.
A stronger dollar also capped a lid on oil prices. Powell’s comments had propelled the U.S. dollar, which typically trades inversely with oil, to hit a three-month high against a basket of currencies.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories fell by about 3.8 million barrels in the week ended March 3.
The drawdown defied forecasts for a 400,000-barrel rise in crude stocks from nine analysts polled by Reuters.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by about 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about 1.9 million barrels.
