Petroleum prices edged towards $80.00 per barrel in the middle of the week as global supply outages and declining U.S. inventories offset worries that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand.
Brent crude rose to as much as $79.20 U.S. a barrel earlier Wednesday before retreating to trade flat on the day at $78.94 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged 13 cents lower to $75.85 a barrel, having climbed to $76.17.
Both contracts are trading near their highest levels in a month, helped along by the strength in global equities.
American Petroleum Institute data showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 24, market sources said late on Tuesday, in line with expectations of analysts.
Investors are awaiting a meeting of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties and their allies (known as OPEC+) on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at which the alliance will decide whether to go ahead with a planned production increase of 400,000 barrels per day in February.
At its last meeting, OPEC+ stuck to its plans to boost output for January despite Omicron.