U.S. oil prices extend gains as equities rise\, but economic worries weigh

U.S. oil prices extend gains as equities rise, but economic worries weigh

Reuters  |  SEOUL 

By Jane Chung

U.S. Intermediate (WTI) crude futures , were up 26 cents, or 0.56 percent, at $46.48 per barrel at 0032 GMT. They jumped 8.7 percent to $46.22 per barrel in the previous session.

Brent had yet to trade. They rose 8 percent to $54.47 a barrel the day before.

Global stocks rebounded on Wednesday on the back of the Trump administration's attempt to shore up investor confidence and a report on strong U.S. holiday spending. [MKTS/GLOB]

However, both crude benchmarks are still down roughly 40 percent from highs in October, pressured by concerns about oversupply and over the outlook for the global

"have rebounded following the stock market's move, but they are still low," said Shim Hye-jin, a at in Seoul.

"But if OPEC's cuts are fulfilled, WTI prices are expected to rise to $50-60 a barrel, while Brent is expected to go up to between $58-70 a barrel next year."

The (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, agreed at a meeting earlier this month to limit output by 1.2 million barrels per day starting in January.

Offering further support to oil prices, U.S. crude inventories were forecast to drop 2.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 21, marking their fourth straight week fall, according to a preliminary poll on Wednesday.

The American Petroleum Institute's (API) inventory data is due on Thursday, while the (EIA) is set to release its report on Friday.

(Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Joseph Radford)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, December 27 2018. 06:38 IST