Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel in Asia today as buyers responded to a slump of almost 4 per cent in the previous session, the fuel's biggest fall in about a year, although worries over US finances and Europe's woes held down gains.
Oil led a slump in commodities yesterday as concerns over a shaky global economy and its impact on demand reasserted themselves after Barack Obama's re-election dispelled uncertainty over the US presidential race.
"What we're seeing is some shortcovering, but I don't expect oil to rebound completely," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan in Tokyo.
"With all these uncertainties in Europe and the United States, I don't think oil demand will increase."
Front-month Brent futures traded 56 cents higher at $107.35 per barrel by 07.18 GMT.
Brent's fall of nearly 4 per cent yesterday was its steepest since December 2011.
US crude rose 56 cents to $84.99 a barrel, after losing nearly 5 per cent in the previous session, also its biggest slump since December 2011.
Investors were also monitoring the impact of a second winter storm that hit the US. Northeast on the heels of devastation wrought by superstorm Sandy, as well as data showing higher US inventories of crude and products last week.
Reuters
