Oil prices rose Wednesday as hopes for an economic rebound offset the impact of surging US crude oil inventories and a gloomy global outlook from the International Monetary Fund
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, added 58 cents from its closing price Tuesday to 42.16 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent North Sea crude for March rose 1.17 dollars to 44.90 dollars on London's InterContinental Exchange.
The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday that crude reserves jumped 6.2 million barrels in the week to January 23, which was more than double market expectations and indicated weaker demand.
Gasoline or petrol stocks sank 100,000 barrels, confounding analysts' forecasts for a sizeable gain. Distillates, including heating fuel and diesel, fell by one million barrels.
As the bulk of the increase in crude reserves - four million barrels - was reported in the US Gulf Coast, some experts felt there could be some easing of supplies, pushing prices higher.
Author:
Ksenia Kochneva
