Oil steadied in Asia after rising 2.5% on Tuesday on signs that Russian crude production may be finally starting to drop.
West Texas Intermediate futures traded near $75 a barrel. Vessel tracking data showed Russian oil flows are starting to show signs of falling more than four months after the OPEC+ producer was due to slash output.
Investors will be watching the US consumer price index read due later Wednesday for clues on the path forward for monetary tightening. Aggressive interest-rate hikes this year have weighed on the energy demand outlook.
Oil remains marginally lower this year, but OPEC+ heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia have pledged supply cuts to prop up prices. The global market is expected to tighten in the second half and stockpiles are forecast to draw through 2024, according to an Energy Information Administration report.
The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported US crude stockpiles rose by 3 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data. Inventories of gasoline and distillates both expanded, but supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil storage hub shrank by over 2 million barrels.
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