Crude prices rose slightly in Asia on Wednesday with investors looking ahead to U.S. inventory data and a monthly OPEC report.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February rose 0.11% to $52.54 a barrel, while March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures Exchange gained 0.13% to $55.56 a barrel.
Estimates on U.S. crude and refined product stocks by the American Petroleum Institute and official data from the U.s. Department of Energy will be released a day later this week because of a public holiday in the U.S. on Monday. OPEC releases its monthly production data this Wednesday.
Overnight the U.S. dollar index fell more than 1%, but recovered in Asia up 0.22% to 100.48. A weaker dollar normally is positive for crude prices with the commidty denomnated in greenbacks.
In OPEC news, shipping industry sources said exports from Iraq's southern Basra port has eased in January, signaling that OPEC's second-largest producer is following through on the group's decision to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd). OPEC members and several other large suppliers aim to reduce output by nearly 1.8 million bpd in the first half of 2017.
And Saudi Arabia said on Monday it will meet its commitment to cut output under the global pact with Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that since the deal came into effect at the New Year all is well.