Investing.com - Oil prices were quoted slightly higher in early Asia on Wednesday after industry data on U.S. crude stocks showed a solid fall at the end of last week.
Figures from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude supplies fell by 2.3 million barrels for the week ended July 15. The figures come ahead of more closely watched data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday (EIA) expected to show a a draw of 2.2 million barrels.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for August delivery rose 0.18% to $45.52 a barrel.
Overnight, crude futures wavered in choppy, volatile trade on Tuesday.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for September delivery wavered between $46.54 and $47.49 a barrel, before settling at $46.79, down $0.35 or 0.76% on the day. Both the U.S. and international benchmarks of crude are down approximately 5% over the last month, erasing all of their Post-Brexit gains.
Investors also continued to monitor developments in Turkey in the wake of last Friday's failed military coup. Since Turkey president Recep Erdogan regained control of the nation over the week, the Turkish government has reportedly detained more than 6,000 people in the widespread crackdown.
Oil price increases, though, failed to gain traction as expectations for considerable supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf failed to materialize. In 2015, Turkey imported more than 25 million tons of crude oil, approximately 45% of which came from Iraq. Other top producers such as Iran and Saudi Arabia accounted for roughly 32% of Turkish oil imports.
Elsewhere, oil received some pressure to the upside as workers in Eastern Libya continued to stage demonstrations protesting a series of unpaid wages. The protests forced Libya's Agoco company to bring approximately 100,000 barrels per day offline at the Sarir oil field. On Monday, two shipments at the nearby Hariga port were halted due to the dispute.