Ammon News - Oil prices were little changed after a 3% drop in the previous session as the market remains concerned about demand this year and on signs that a wider conflict in the key Middle East producing region could be avoided.

Brent futures were up 13 cents, or 0.15%, at $87.42 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded 6 cents higher, up 0.07%, at $82.75 a barrel at 0636 GMT.

Analysts at JP Morgan highlighted in a note late on Tuesday that worldwide oil consumption so far in April has been 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) below its forecast, averaging 101 million bpd. From the start of the year, demand has risen by 1.7 million bpd, down from its forecast in November of 2 million bpd.

Surging U.S. crude inventories also kept a lid on prices. Oil inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels to 460 million barrels in the week ending April 12, the Energy Information Administration said, nearly double analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel build.


Reuters