Oil prices rose in early trading on Thursday, recovering from two straight sessions of declines as investors reassessed the latest data on U.S. crude and gasoline inventories.
price movement
By 0041 GMT, Brent crude futures for May delivery were up 29 cents, or 0.34 percent, at $86.38 a barrel, while the more-traded June futures were up 28 cents, or 0.33 percent, at $85.69.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery rose 41 cents, or 0.50 percent, to $81.76 a barrel.
In the previous session, oil prices came under pressure after US crude oil and gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose last week, driven by higher crude imports and slower gasoline demand, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
However, the increase in crude oil inventories was less than the American Petroleum Institute's expectations.
We expect... U.S. inventories to rise less than usual, reflecting a slightly tight global oil market. This is likely to support Brent crude going forward, Bjarne Schieldrop, senior commodities analyst at SEB Research, said in a note.
A Federal Reserve governor said Wednesday that disappointing inflation data underscores the central bank's case for delaying its short-term interest rate cut, but he did not rule out a rate cut later in the year.
Markets are set to begin cutting interest rates by both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in June, JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Lower interest rates support oil demand.
