WTI oil stays positive, Brent trades flat

FXStreet (Mumbai) - Crude prices in the US managed to stay positive, but the gains remain capped as traders took profits after prices rallied in the previous session on a smaller than expected rise in the US inventory.

At the time of writing, WTI oil was up 1% around USD 46.43/barrel. Across the pond, Brent futures traded largely unchanged around USD 49.00/barrel. Prices strengthened on Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration said the nation’s crude stockpile grew by 3.4 million barrels last week, below the estimate of a 4.1 million-barrel increase.

However, gains are being capped to some extent by a stronger US dollar. Indications by the Fed that the U.S. central bank could lift interest rates at its meeting in December pushed up USD, making crude oil costly in non-USD terms.