Petroleum prices rose on Wednesday amid caution as falling U.S. crude stocks in a generally tight market countered the negative impact of uncertain Chinese demand growth, lower gas prices and reports that the United States would release more oil from its reserves.
Brent crude futures for December settlement were up 30 cents, or 0.3%, to $90.33 U.S. a barrel. Earlier in the session, Brent hit a low of $89.32 U.S.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery, expiring on Thursday, was at $83.16 a barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.4%. The December contract was at $82.41, up 34 cents, or 0.4%.
In the previous session, the contracts fell to their lowest in two weeks on reports that U.S. President Joe Biden plans to release 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
China this week postponed the release of some key economic data, a highly unusual move that stoked fears of weak growth.
But there were also some signs of resurgent Chinese oil demand, including private mega refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp. and state-run ChemChina receiving further import quotas.
A pending European Union ban on Russian crude and oil products and the output cut from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, of two million barrels per day also supported prices.
In the United States, crude oil stockpiles fell about 1.3 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.
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