Oil steadied below $76 a barrel today after two days of losses, as investors awaited weekly US inventory data expected to show refineries running harder to churn out more petrol.
London Brent crude, seen as a better gauge of global markets than US oil, rose 16 cents to $75.69 a barrel earlier, after falling 76 cents the previous day.
It hit a $78.40 peak on Monday, near a record high last August. US light crude rose 24 cents to $74.26 a barrel. The US Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on crude oil and fuel stocks this afternoon.
Crude stocks in top consumer the United States are at nine-year highs, but could have fallen by 200,000 barrels last week as refineries ramped up production runs.
Crude prices are close to record highs because of perceptions that strong global demand is now beginning to have an impact on high oil inventories, especially in the US.
The structure of the market is also shifting so that crude prices nearby are higher than prices further into the future, which typically signals a tighter supply outlook.
"Tightness in crude supply is expected to spread to the US over time, as U.S. refineries emerge from extended maintenance shutdowns," said Antoine Halff, analyst with Fimat USA.
The price surge over the past month has prompted calls from the International Energy Agency for Opec to relax its current supply restraints, introduced in November last year and again in February to stabilise prices, which fell to around $50 in January.