Oil is steady due to a surprise increase in US stocks
IN NEW YORK: After earlier reaching a 10-month high, oil prices remained nearly unchanged on Wednesday as expectations of a limited supply of petroleum for the remainder of the year were partially offset by a surprise increase in US crude stocks.
By 12:48 p.m. EDT (1648 GMT), the benchmark Brent futures price had decreased by 7 cents to $91.99 per barrel. The session high for crude oil was $92.84 per barrel, the highest since November.
WTI, the US West Texas Intermediate, fell 11 cents to $88.73. The session high of $89.64 per barrel matched the peak reached in November.
The largest spread since November between front-month Brent futures contracts and those for delivery six months in the future, LCOc1-LCOc7, was $4.90 per barrel, signalling tightening supply.