Oil rose above $82 a barrel today as lower fuel stocks heightened concerns about a potential supply shortage this winter.
US crude climbed 91 cents to $82.21 a barrel by earlier today. London Brent crude rose 80 cents to $79.40.
US weekly oil inventory data, due out later today, are expected to show a 400,000-barrel decline in distillate stocks, which include heating fuel. European oil inventories fell in September, data showed this week.
Crude inventories are expected to have risen by 900,000 barrels, while gasoline stocks edged up by 100,000 barrels.
"There is a broad consensus that supplies will get tighter this winter," the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report. The IEA warned that high oil prices, hovering near record highs for the past month, were acting as a brake on fuel demand.
The IEA estimated demand will rise by 2.03 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter from a year ago, 320,000 bpd less than previously expected.
Oil prices have been holding near $80 since striking a record of $83.90 in September, as investors shrug off Opec's pledge to add 500,000 barrels per day more oil to the market next month.