Oil prices steadied in early trade on Wednesday after two consecutive days of losses as investors weighed potential OPEC+ plans for a larger output hike next month against the prospect of shrinking inventories in the U.S.
Brent crude futures for December delivery rose 12 cents to $66.15 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 12 cents to $62.49 a barrel.
On Monday, Brent and WTI both settled more than 3 per cent lower, their sharpest daily declines since August 1. On Tuesday, they each fell at least 1.5 per cent further.
The prospect of shrinking U.S. crude oil inventories helped keep prices from falling farther. U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute estimates on Tuesday.
Crude stocks fell by 3.67 million barrels in the week ended September 26, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Gasoline inventories, however, rose by 1.3 million barrels while distillate inventories increased by 3 million barrels from last week, the sources said.
OPEC+ could agree to raise oil production by up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, triple the increase made for October, as Saudi Arabia seeks to reclaim market share, three sources familiar with the talks said.
Eight members of the group, which pumps about half the world’s oil, are considering a hike of 274,000 to 411,000 bpd, two of the sources said. A third source said the increase could reach 500,000 bpd.
OPEC wrote in a post on X that media reports of plans to raise output by 500,000 bpd were misleading.
Also in the U.S., President Donald Trump won Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s support for a U.S.-backed Gaza peace proposal, but the stance of Hamas was uncertain.
