Investing.com - Crude oil gained in Asia on Thursday despite weak manufacturing figures from Japan and higher U.S. stockpiles than expected reported overnight.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for November rose 0.97% to $48.28 a barrel.
In Japan core machinery orders plunged 5.7% in August, sharply missing the expected 3.2% gain month-on-month, leading the government to downgrade its views on the sector after the third straight monthly drop.
As well current account showed a surplus of ¥1.653 trillion in August, above the previous month's ¥1.037 trillion.
In China, where markets open after a week-long break, comes the Caixin Services PMI later in the day.
Overnight, crude futures see-sawed on a volatile day of trading, amid a stronger than expected build in U.S. crude stockpiles last week.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brent crude for November delivery wavered between $51.23 and $53.15 a barrel before closing at $51.45, down 0.47 or 0.83% on the session.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report that U.S. crude inventories for the week ending on Oct. 2 rose by 3.1 million barrels.
Analysts expected a more modest build of 2.2 million barrels for the week. At 461.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil stockpiles remain near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years. For the week, total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.9 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories decreased by 2.5 million barrels.
U.S. production, meanwhile, soared by 176,000 barrels per day last week to 9.172 million bpd. A week earlier, crude output nationwide fell below 9.1 million bpd for the first time this year. In June, crude production throughout the U.S. reached its highest level in more than 40 years.
Any supply builds are viewed as bearish for crude, amid a glut of oversupply on energy markets worldwide. Over the last year, crude prices have crashed by more than 50% after OPEC rattled markets last November with its decision to keep its production ceiling above 30 million barrels per day. The tactic triggered an extended battle between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for market share, sending prices plummeting.
Crude prices surged on Tuesday to monthly highs after the EIA forecasted that global supply next year will rise to 95.98 million bpd, a level 0.1% lower than its estimates in September.
In its October Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA also said that demand is expected to rise 270,000 bpd to 95.2 million, amid stronger projections for Chinese demand growth. The forecasts represent a 0.3% increase from the EIA's demand projections in September.
In addition, OPEC chief Abdalla Salem el-Badri said he anticipates that global oil investments will fall by approximately $130 billion this year, as a host of OPEC members face substantial deficits due to lower prices. Furthermore, el-Badri expects supply levels to decline in the near future resulting in price rebounds.