Oil prices edge higher after US stocks build less than expected

Oil prices ticked higher on Thursday after U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected last week and fuel stocks saw large draws.

Brent crude futures rose 15 cents to $83.11 a barrel by 0021 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 18 cents to $79.31 a barrel.

The benchmarks edged up about 1% on Wednesday after crude inventories rose for a sixth week in a row, building by 1.4 million barrels, about two-thirds of the 2.1 million-barrel rise analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.

Gasoline and distillate stocks fell more-than-expected, the EIA data also showed.

A strong U.S. dollar will maintain the status quo in the near term, as markets brace for a risk the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut gets delayed to the second half of this year, according to a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said continued progress on inflation “is not assured”, though the U.S. central bank still expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate this year. Markets also awaited Chinese trade data. Beijing this week said it is again aiming for GDP growth this year of around 5%. Many analysts are sceptical, though, and the performance of imports and exports in recent months suggests trade will not be a major driver of the economy. In a sign of supply tightness, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised the prices for flagship Arab Light crude it sells to Asia in April to $1.70 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, trade sources said.