Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, staying close to their highest levels in seven weeks as the market weighed concerns over escalating conflicts against demand worries following an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 20 cents to $81.37 per barrel.
U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures.
However, gasoline inventories fell by 1.077 million barrels, while distillates rose by 538,000 barrels, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
China data this week showed May industrial output lagged expectations, but retail sales, a gauge of consumption, marked their quickest growth since February.
Persons:
Ricardo Evangelista, Israel Katz, Jun Rong
Organizations:
Brent, . West Texas, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters, U.S . Energy, Administration, Hezbollah, U.S, IG
Locations:
Ukrainian, Russian, East, Israel, Iran, China, Singapore