Brent oil rebounded from a one-month trough today, while US crude fell back to February lows after oil inventories in America hit record highs.
The US Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles rose by 4.5million barrels last week, trumping some traders’ expectations after an industry report on Tuesday posted a slight drop instead.
Inventories have written new records for nine weeks now, standing at nearly 490million barrels.
London-traded Brent rose 62 cents to $57.01 a barrel, rebounding from a one-month low of $55.92 earlier in the session.
US crude fell 55 cents to $47.74, having hit a February 2 low of $47.33 earlier.
Brent’s recovery was aided by investors playing the so-called Brent-WTI (West Texas Intermediate) spread, when they buy one benchmark and sell the other.
Meanwhile, Russia’s crude oil exports are forecast to rise this year despite some expectations of a plunge in production due to lower prices.
Traders are also closely watching supply risks in Libya, where two eastern oilfields have been shut following an attack by Islamist militants.
Oil prices hit a five-year low in January but have rebounded more recently amid speculation that a global surplus will diminish as the year progresses.
Read more market news here.
