Investing.com - U.S. oil futures were hovering near the lowest level since April 2013 on Thursday, despite the dovish stance of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes, as data showing that U.S. stockpiles rose far more than expected last week continued to weigh.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in November traded at $87.22 a barrel during European early afternoon trade, down 0.10%.
Prices gained 0.31% on Thursday to settle at $91.01.
Futures were likely to find support at $86.83 a barrel, Wednesday's low and resistance at $88.63, Wednesday's high.
Oil prices gained some ground earlier in the session on the back of a weaker dollar, after the minutes of the Fed's September 16-17 policy on Wednesday showed that a number of officials believe the bank's current language painted the wrong picture on the timing of rate hikes and that an interest rate rise should be tied to U.S. economic progress.
The minutes also showed that the U.S. central bank cut its growth outlook due to the higher dollar and concerns over global weakness.
But crude remained under pressure as the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 5 million barrels in the week ending October 3, blowing past expectations for a gain of 1.6 million barrels.
The report also showed that gasoline stockpiles rose by 1.2 million barrels, confounding expectations for a drop of 1.0 million barrels.
The data came a day after the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude inventories increased by 5.1 million barrels in the week ending October 3, more than expectations for a rise of 1.4 million barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for November delivery declined $0.37, or 0.43%, to hit $90.99 a barrel.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.77 from $3.58 in the previous session.