Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures rebounded on Wednesday, amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories fell for the first time in 11 weeks.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 10:30AM ET Wednesday. The data was expected to show that crude inventories rose by 252,000 barrels last week.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. oil inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week ended December 4, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.2 million barrels.
Oil supplies in the U.S. have risen for ten straight weeks, remaining near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Crude oil for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 32 cents, or 0.84%, to trade at $37.83 a barrel during European morning hours.
On Tuesday, Nymex futures dropped to $36.64, the lowest level since February 2009, before paring losses to close at $37.51, down 14 cents, or 0.37.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for January delivery tacked on 33 cents, or 0.82%, to trade at $40.59 a barrel. A day earlier, London-traded Brent sank to $39.81, a level not seen since February 2009, before ending at $40.26, down 47 cents, or 1.15%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to agree on output targets to reduce an oil glut that has cut prices by more than 60% since June 2014. As a result, crude prices are expected to remain stubbornly low amid a glut of oversupply on global energy markets.
The 12-member group produced approximately 31.5 million barrels per day last month. Global crude production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil and as OPEC opted not to cut production in order to defend market share.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $2.76 a barrel, compared to $2.75 by close of trade on Tuesday.