Oil held steady above $68 a barrel today, building on the previous day's gains after an unexpected fall in US crude oil stockpiles.
London Brent crude oil currently a better indicator of the global market than US oil, rose 19 cents to $68.23 a barrel by earlier this morning, having settled up 20 cents on Thursday. US crude was up 19 cents at $64.20 a barrel.
US crude oil stocks dropped by 2 million barrels last week on slowing imports, which fell by over 800,000 barrels per day (bpd), government data showed. Analysts had expected an increase in stocks of 700,000 barrels.
Gasoline stocks in the world's biggest energy user rose by 1.3 million barrels, in line with market expectations, backed by robust imports that swelled to 1.6 million bpd.
The build in gasoline stocks came despite steady refinery operations and undeterred demand growth, with four-week average deliveries up 1.4 per cent from a year ago at 9.417 million bpd.
Brent prices have retreated from last week's eight-month high of nearly $72 a barrel on growing hopes that gasoline supplies will last through the peak summer season, but losses have been checked by violence in number-eight exporter Nigeria.