Oil rises as doubts over US-Iran deal heighten supply concerns
XLE•Inventory data and EIA report in focus
On the supply front, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday that U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories were expected to have fallen last week.
However, market sources citing American Petroleum Institute data said U.S. crude inventories rose sharply in the week ended August 7, while gasoline and distillate stocks fell.
Crude stocks rose by about 9.1 million barrels, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels and 596,000 barrels, respectively, from the previous week, the sources said.
The crude build far exceeded expectations and, if confirmed by the EIA report later on Wednesday, could ease market concerns about supply tightness, Haitong Futures said in a note.
Official numbers from the EIA, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, are due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.
As for longer-term supply, the EIA expected disruptions of about 600,000 barrels per day to Middle East crude oil supplies to persist through the end of 2027.
