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Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and rising crude oil inventories offset the decline in US production caused by Hurricane Ian.
Brent crude futures rose five cents, or 0.06 percent, to $86.32 a barrel by 0937 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell nine cents, or 0.1 percent, to $78.41 a barrel. The two crudes compensated for their decline earlier, after they rose by more than two percent in the previous session.
The Office of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a maritime security regulator, said oil production in the Gulf of Mexico fell by about 190,000 barrels per day, or 11 percent of total Gulf production, due to Hurricane Ian.
But the dollar hit a two-decade high against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as global interest rate hikes fueled recession fears. A higher dollar reduces the demand for oil as it becomes more expensive for buyers who use other currencies.
Based on figures from the American Petroleum Institute, market sources said on Tuesday said that US crude oil stocks rose by 4.2 million barrels for the week ending September 23, while gasoline stocks fell by about one million barrels.
The sources added that distillate stocks rose by 438,000 barrels. The news comes ahead of official data from the Energy Information Administration at 1430 GMT.
Goldman Sachs lowered its oil price forecast for 2023 on Tuesday due to expectations of weak demand and a stronger dollar, but said that the global disappointment over supplies strengthened its expectations for the long-term upside.
On Tuesday, a source familiar with the Russian view said that one of the next catalysts for prices would be the OPEC + meeting on October 5, in which Russia is likely to propose cutting production by about one million barrels per day.
