Investing.com - Crude oil prices were steady in Asia on Thursday with the focus on the upcoming U.S. stocks data from the Deprtment of Energy and easing etnsions in the Ukraine.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, late Wednesday showed a 545,000-barrel decline in crude stocks. The API said gasoline supplies rose by 362,000 barrels and stocks of distillates rose by 385,000 barrels.
Traders are waiting for weekly U.S. inventory data, which is set to be released Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT, one day later than usual due to the Labor Day holiday. Analysts expect the U.S. Energy Information Administration to report that oil supplies fell 1.113 million barrels, while distillates dipped 500,000 barrels and gasoline stocks eased 1.325 million barrels.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in October traded at $95.18 a barrel, down 0.01%, after hitting an overnight session low of $93.07 a barrel and a high of $95.83 a barrel.
Brent oil prices rose 2.4% to $102.77 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe on Wednesday.
Overnight, bargain hunting sent oil prices soaring as investors felt global supply concerns had pushed the commodity too low, while investors also kept an eye on Ukraine amid talk of a developing ceasefire and its bullish economic ramifications.
In the U.S., the U.S. Census Bureau reported earlier that factory orders rose 10.5% in July, below expectations for an increase of 11%, after a revised 1.5% rise in June, though the advancing figure failed to dampen spirits.
On Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 59.0 in August from 57.1 in July, defying analysts' calls for the index to tick down to 56.8.
While investors have ignored positive U.S. economic indicators recently due to concerns that the world is awash in crude oil, bargain hunting along with thawing Ukraine-Russia relations sparked a rally on Wednesday.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to take steps to establish a "permanent ceasefire" in eastern Ukraine.
Putin later said his views were "very close" with Poroshenko on finding a political way out of the conflict.
Oil prices applauded the news on the grounds that waning military conflicts in Ukraine will lessen the chances of the crisis slowing global recovery and chipping away at demand for crude even more.