Oil prices were barely lower this evening on renewed worries that China might raise interest rates to fight inflation, although prices recovered from early losses after data showed a large drop in US crude inventories.
US crude was down 26 cents at $82.09 a barrel, while Brent crude was nine cents up at $84.82.
US crude stockpiles fell by 7.29 million barrels in the week to November 12, compared with a forecast for an increase of 100,000 barrels, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.
The fall was roughly in line with a 7.7 million barrel drop for the same week shown in a separate sat of data from the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Tuesday. Lower stockpiles usually suggest stronger demand.
It was a fourth day of declines in US crude, which totalled a loss of more than 7% since it struck a two-year high of $88.63 on Thursday.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government was preparing steps to tame price rises, the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Tuesday. Any slowdown to the Chinese economy may slow its rapid growth in energy demand.
