Investing.com - Crude oil futures steadied near their lowest level in months on Wednesday, as concerns over ample global supplies and weak demand continued to weigh.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for October delivery inched up 0.03%, or 4 cents, to trade at $101.60 a barrel during European morning hours.
A day earlier, London-traded Brent prices fell to $101.07 a barrel, the lowest since June 26, 2013, as tensions eased over conflicts in Ukraine and Iraq.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko are expected to meet in Belarus's capital of Minsk on August 26.
European Union officials will also be in attendance, in hopes of reaching a ceasefire or a political solution to the four-month old conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Elsewhere, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in October dipped 0.04%, or 4 cents, to trade at $92.82 a barrel.
New York-traded oil futures hit $92.62 a barrel on Tuesday, the weakest level since January 15.
Investors awaited the release of weekly supply data out of the U.S. later in the session to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer.
Wednesday’s government report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 1.2 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decline by 1.6 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week ended August 15, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.8 million barrels.
The report also showed that gasoline stockpiles decreased by 2.1 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 568,000 barrels.
Investors also looked ahead to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting later in the day, as well as comments from the Fed's three-day conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which starts on Thursday.
The spotlight will be on Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who will speak on Friday in her first appearance at Jackson Hole as head of the U.S. central bank.