Investing.com - Crude oil futures edged higher during European morning hours on Wednesday, as appetite for riskier assets improved after Moody's affirmed Spain's sovereign rating at investment grade, easing fears of an imminent downgrade to junk status.
Gains were limited as concerns about future oil demand prospects continued to weigh.
Oil traders were focusing on closely-watched weekly supply data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD92.61 a barrel during European morning trade, easing up 0.15%.
The December contract was stuck in a tight trading range of USD92.46 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD92.98 a barrel, which was the strongest level since October 12.
Moody’s confirmed Spain’s credit rating at Baaa3 with a negative outlook, just one notch above junk status and expressed confidence that reforms enacted by the Spanish government and support from the euro zone would ensure that Madrid had continued access to the credit market.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds fell to 5.53% following the announcement, the lowest level since April.
Speculation that the debt-strapped nation was moving closer to requesting a bailout further supported sentiment.
A bailout would allow the ECB to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget.
European Union policymakers will hold a two-day summit in Brussels starting on Thursday to discuss ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis as well as Greece's steps towards fiscal recovery.
Oil traders looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. government on oil supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 1.6 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by a modest 0.5 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.7 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks declined 1.18 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Market players also looked ahead to Chinese third quarter growth figures due out on Thursday to gauge whether the world second largest economy is heading towards a hard or a soft landing.
Market analysts expect the data to show China's annual growth slowed for a seventh straight quarter in the July-September period to the weakest level since the depths of the 2009 global financial crisis.
The Asian nation is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Concerns over declining global oil demand have intensified in recent sessions after the International Energy Agency last week cut its demand growth forecast for next year, citing lower consumption in Europe, the Americas and China.
Market players also continued to focus on escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey and the possibility that Iran could support Syria in such a dispute.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have been growing since Syrian shells last week killed five people in a Turkish border village.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production and held 52% of proved reserves in 2011.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery eased down 0.2% to trade at USD113.76 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD21.15 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions, as a combination of lingering concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East and worries over declining production in the North Sea-region have been boosting prices.
Gains were limited as concerns about future oil demand prospects continued to weigh.
Oil traders were focusing on closely-watched weekly supply data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD92.61 a barrel during European morning trade, easing up 0.15%.
The December contract was stuck in a tight trading range of USD92.46 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD92.98 a barrel, which was the strongest level since October 12.
Moody’s confirmed Spain’s credit rating at Baaa3 with a negative outlook, just one notch above junk status and expressed confidence that reforms enacted by the Spanish government and support from the euro zone would ensure that Madrid had continued access to the credit market.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds fell to 5.53% following the announcement, the lowest level since April.
Speculation that the debt-strapped nation was moving closer to requesting a bailout further supported sentiment.
A bailout would allow the ECB to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget.
European Union policymakers will hold a two-day summit in Brussels starting on Thursday to discuss ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis as well as Greece's steps towards fiscal recovery.
Oil traders looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. government on oil supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 1.6 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by a modest 0.5 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.7 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks declined 1.18 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Market players also looked ahead to Chinese third quarter growth figures due out on Thursday to gauge whether the world second largest economy is heading towards a hard or a soft landing.
Market analysts expect the data to show China's annual growth slowed for a seventh straight quarter in the July-September period to the weakest level since the depths of the 2009 global financial crisis.
The Asian nation is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
Concerns over declining global oil demand have intensified in recent sessions after the International Energy Agency last week cut its demand growth forecast for next year, citing lower consumption in Europe, the Americas and China.
Market players also continued to focus on escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey and the possibility that Iran could support Syria in such a dispute.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have been growing since Syrian shells last week killed five people in a Turkish border village.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for 36% of global oil production and held 52% of proved reserves in 2011.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery eased down 0.2% to trade at USD113.76 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD21.15 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices have been well-supported in recent sessions, as a combination of lingering concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Middle East and worries over declining production in the North Sea-region have been boosting prices.