Investing.com - Crude oil prices slipped slightly in Asia on Thursday with U.S. markets shut ahead for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for January delivery fell 0.05% to $43.11 a barrel.
Overnight, crude futures inched up on Wednesday after reversing territory late in the session, as global oversupply and the wide-ranging geopolitical ramifications of the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey remained in focus.
After slipping to near six year lows last week, U.S. crude futures closed above $42 a barrel for only the second time in the last 10 trading days. The front month contract for U.S. crude is now down less than 4% over the last month following the recent rally.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brent crude for January delivery wavered between $45.03 and $46.49 a barrel before closing at $46.13, up 0.01 or 0.02% on the session. With the slight gains, North Sea brent futures extended its winning streak to its six.
Meanwhile, the spread between the international and U.S. domestic benchmarks of crude stood at $3.15, slightly below Tuesday's level of 3.24 at the close of trading.
On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that U.S. commercial crude inventories rose by 1.0 million barrels for the week ending on Nov. 20, slightly below expectations of a 1.1 million barrel build. It came one day after the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase of 2.6 million barrel in crude stockpiles last week.
At 488.2 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years. Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories rose by 1.0 million barrels for the week. Production, meanwhile, fell for the second consecutive week, dropping from 9.182 million barrels per day to 9.165 million.
Investors await next week's critical OPEC meeting in Vienna for further indications on long-term price and production forecasts on global energy markets. Crude prices are down by more than 40% over the last year since OPEC roiled markets with a strategic decision to maintain its production level at above 30 million barrels per day.
Elsewhere, U.S. president Barack Obama continued to outline the nation's plan of attack in collaboration with more than 60 other nations as part of a comprehensive effort to defeat terrorists from the Islamic State.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Obama provided some details of his meeting with a team of national security advisors following diplomatic talks with France president Francois Hollande a day earlier. On Tuesday, Hollande made his first trip to Washington since this month's terrorist attacks in Paris, which claimed the lives of more than 120 civilians. Representatives from the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Obama also urged Turkey president Tayyip Erdogan to take steps to prevent any escalation of Tuesday's downing of a Russian fighter jet on the Turkish-Syrian border. Russia has increased its presence in the area after ISIS also accepted responsibility for detonating an explosive on a commercial flight last month that killed 224 passengers in Egypt.
"So far our military and partners have conducted more than 8,000 airstrikes on ISIS strongholds and equipment," Obama said.
"Those airstrikes along with efforts of our partners on the ground have taken out key leaders and taken back territory in both Iraq and Syria. We continue to work to choke off their financing and supply lines."
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department released revised data, which showed that ISIS brings in as much as $500 million in oil revenues per year. Crude prices are sensitive to any news of significant geopolitical instability in the Persian Gulf.