Oil prices held above $57 a barrel today, stemming a steep sell-off from record highs after an unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles.
US crude gained 19 cents to $57.45 a barrel after a five percent slide in two days from Monday's all-time peak of $60.95. London Brent gained 27 cents to $56.42 a barrel.
Yesterday's weekly US inventory report showed near-record crude imports by the world's top consumer, helping to boost crude stocks by 1.1 million barrels despite refineries operating near capacity.
“Obviously, crude stocks building when refiners run flat-out -- as they are now -- is bearish for crude,” said SG Commodities in a report.
US refinery utilisation rates rose 1.5 percentage points to 96.3 per cent, helping to boost stocks of distillates, the high-demand fuel group that includes diesel and heating oil, the US Energy Information Administration report showed.
The report showed four-week average demand growth for distillates easing to 5.7 per cent from nearly seven percent the previous week. Demand growth rates for distillates remained strong enough to cause concern about fourth quarter inventories when seasonal consumption peaks.