Oil rises on bargain-hunting, hopes for stockpile purchases
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors looked for bargains after the previous session’s slump and on hopes that consuming countries will look to fill their strategic reserves, although oversupply fears and warnings of a deep recession capped gains.
Brent futures were up 38 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $29.98 a barrel as of 0201 GMT, after falling 6.7 per cent on Tuesday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 36 cents, or 1.8 per cent, at $20.47, having crashed 10.3 per cent in the previous session.
Both benchmarks were undercut by worries that a record global output cut by producers would not offset plunging fuel demand due to efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
