(Investing) – HOUSTON -Oil prices held largely steady on Thursday after declining around 4% in the previous session as investors weighed concerns about global oversupply with looming sanctions against Russia’s Lukoil.
Brent crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.01 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.69 a barrel, after a decline of 4.2% on Wednesday.
“There should be considerable support to oil prices around $60/bbl, especially given there could be short-term disruption to Russian export flows once stricter sanctions kick in,” said Suvro Sarkar, DBS Bank’s energy sector team lead.
The U.S. has hit Lukoil with sanctions as part of its efforts to bring the Kremlin to peace talks over Ukraine. The sanctions prohibit transactions with the Russian company after November 21.
Price gains were held back as a report from the Energy Information Administration showed a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stocks, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell less than expected last week. [EIA/S]
Crude inventories rose by 6.4 million barrels to 427.6 million barrels in the week ended November 7, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.96-million-barrel rise.
