Investing.com - Crude prices gained on Wednesday as investors continued to buy on hopes of stronger global economic growth.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in December traded at $82.63 a barrel, up 0.16%, after hitting an overnight session low of $81.77 a barrel and off a high of $3.25 a barrel.
Brent oil rose 1% to $86.22 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe on Tuesday.
The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday showed a 1.2-million-barrel increase in crude stocks in the past week, a 532,000-barrel decline in gasoline stocks and a 822,000-barrel drop in distillate stocks.
A more closely watched Department of Energy survey is due Wednesday and analysts expect stockpiles to rise by 2.686 million barrels.
The survey from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
Overnight, better-than-expected Chinese growth data and U.S. home sales figures pushed crude prices higher by fueling hopes that demand for the commodity may firmer than once anticipated.
China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 7.3% in the three months to September, slightly higher than the 7.2% forecast by economists but still slower than the 7.5% rate recorded in the second quarter.
While it was the slowest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2009, the surprise on the upside convinced investors that the world's second-largest consumer of crude may not be cooling as fast as once feared.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales increased 2.4% to 5.17 million units in September from 5.05 million in August.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1% to 5.10 million units in September, and the better-than-expected figure boosted demand for oil on hopes demand for the commodity will hold as the U.S. recovers and consumes more fuel and energy.