Oil bounced above $63 a barrel today to claw back some of the previous day's 6% plunge, lifted by a report of an unexpected decline in US crude inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said this week that US crude stocks last week fell by 1.5 million barrels, easing concerns for now that a supply glut is building up.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 66 cents to $63.19 per barrel this afternoon and traded as high as $63.96. US crude gained $1.14 to $54.57.
But today's bounce did little to reverse overall market weakness.
Crude fell more than 6% in the previous session and world equities tumbled as investors grew more worried about economic growth prospects.
Brent has fallen by more than 25% since reaching a four-year high of $86.74 on October 3, reflecting concern about forecasts of slowing demand in 2019 and record supply from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US.
Worried by the prospect of a new supply glut, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is talking about reducing output just months after increasing production.
OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC producers are considering a supply cut of between 1 million barrels per day (bpd) and 1.4 million bpd at a December 6 meeting, sources familiar with the issue have said.
Still, Saudi Arabia may find taking action to support prices harder, analysts say, with US pressure to keep them low. President Donald Trump today praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices.
Riyadh could feel more inclined to heed US demands after Trump promised to be a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia despite saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about a plan to murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
