Oil rose along with broader financial markets after the Federal Reserve hinted it might be done with raising interest rates, buoying a shaky demand outlook.
West Texas Intermediate rose toward $81 a barrel after falling around 6% over the previous three sessions, while global benchmark Brent was near $85. The Fed held off raising borrowing costs for a second straight meeting on Wednesday and signaled in a statement that a recent rise in longer-term Treasury yields reduces the impetus to hike again.
In the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas war remained contained, with some refugees allowed to flee the fighting in Gaza. Oil has now given up its war premium as fears the conflict would spread across the wider region and disrupt oil supplies have so far failed to eventuate. That’s spurred a shift in attention to signs the global demand outlook is weakening.
US nationwide stockpiles rose for a second straight week, expanding by 773,000 barrels, according to Energy Information Administration data. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma oil storage hub, also increased.
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