Strong Gasoline Demand Lifts Oil, but High OPEC Supplies Temper Gains
Oil rose on Wednesday, supported by strong demand for gasoline, but rising output from OPEC producers revived concerns about a persistent overhang of excess crude.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 21 cents at $49.05 a barrel by 1204 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 14 cents at $46.50 a barrel.
While U.S. crude stocks rose by 1.6 million barrels to 497.2 million barrels in the week to July 14, gasoline stocks fell by a whopping 5.4 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday.