Oil prices were largely steady in Asian trade on Wednesday, hovering near a four-week high hit a day earlier after Saudi Arabia said it was determined to end a supply glut.
Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, was up 10 cents at $58.43 a barrel by 0103 GMT, after settling on Tuesday up 96 cents, or 1.7 per cent.
US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was trading down 4 cents at $52.43 a barrel, having risen 57 cents on Tuesday, reports Reuters.
The OPEC, plus Russia and nine other producers, have cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since January. The pact runs to March 2018, but they are considering extending it.
US crude stocks rose by 519,000 barrels last week, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday after settlement.
Gasoline stocks fell by 5.8 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 17,000-barrel decline.
Distillate fuels stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.9 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 860,000-barrel drop, the API data showed.
The US government’s Energy Information Administration releases its report later in the day.
