Crude oil prices recovered marginally on Thursday, despite official data from the U.S. showing a large build in inventories.
Data from the Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories increasing by 16.3 million barrels in the week ended February 10 as compared with 2.4 million barrels in the previous week. Markets were factoring in an inventory build of 1.2 million barrels. The build has however reportedly been attributed to a data adjustment.
Prices of the black fuel had slumped on Wednesday as well, based on data released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday which showed an increase of 10.51 million barrels in crude oil stockpile, versus expectations of a rise of 0.32 million barrels. The previous week had recorded a draw of 2.2 million barrels.
The outlook on global oil demand provided by the OPEC as well as the International Energy Agency in its recent reports also supported prices.
Brent Oil Futures for April settlement traded in a band of $86.20 and $83.88. It is currently at $85.58, up 0.23 percent from the previous close.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil Futures for March settlement too traded tight, between a high of $79.53 and a low of $78.06. The current price of $78.85 represents a gain of 0.33 percent from Wednesday's close.
