Oil Edges Higher As Dollar Eases Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday after two consecutive sessions of losses.

Prices received some support amid the threat of tighter supplies from OPEC and its partners. The upside, however, remained capped by growing risks of a global recession and tightening Covid-19 curbs in China.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to $94.66 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 0.2 percent at $89.53.

A slight pullback in the dollar and supply tightness caused by OPEC and allies-led output cuts and disruptions to Russian oil production helped support oil prices.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden warned Saudi Arabia that there would be “consequences” for following the Riyadh-led alliance’s move to cut oil production.

His remarks came a day after White House officials said the administration must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.

Diesel prices are soaring in Europe and the United States, spurring a fresh bout of inflationary pressure ahead of a winter that is expected to see major supply disruption.

The energy crisis in Europe is threatening to escalate into a global price war, German business paper Handelsblatt said.

Citi Research expects U.S. crude prices to average $96 a barrel and Brent prices to average $101 per barrel in 2022 in response to tightening supplies due to the output cut.

U.S. inventory data has been delayed by a day this week because of a holiday on Monday.

Industry data from the American Petroleum Institute will be released later today while the U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes its data on Thursday.

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