Investing.com - Oil prices pared back losses on Wednesday, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a smaller than expected U.S. oil inventory build last week.
U.S. crude oil was trading at $59.13 following the report from around $58.63 earlier.
Global benchmark Brent futures were last at $62.90 a barrel, up from $62.38 before the data.
Crude oil inventories rose by 1.84 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 2.82 million barrels after a build of 1.89 million barrels in the previous week.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories rose by 3.59 million barrels, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.22 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 0.45 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decrease of 1.13 million.
The report came after industry group the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels last week, to 422.4 million.
The recent surge in U.S. supplies had raised concerns that the global oil market could tip back into oversupply soon, flipping the 2017 deficit which resulted from output cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia.
The International Energy Agency said Tuesday it expects oil demand to grow by 1.4 million bpd in 2018, but added that output growth could outpace demand.
The Paris-based IEA said the rise in global oil production, led by the U.S., is likely to outpace growth in demand this year.