Oil prices rebounded above $59 a barrel today as traders focused on expected falls in US fuel inventories.
Crude for April delivery was trading up 34 cents at $59.25 a barrel by earlier this morning after falling $1.14 yesterday when it hit a three-week low. London Brent crude was up 26 cents at $61.00 a barrel.
The gains were limited, however, on expectations that Opec will keep output steady at its Thursday meeting.
The gains came after the market gave up nearly $3 in the past three sessions, in part due to milder weather in the United States that ushered in an end to the heating oil demand season.
US weekly oil statistics due out tomorrow are still expected to show a fall of 1.8 million barrels in distillate stocks, including heating oil, as well as a 2.4 million barrel drop in gasoline stocks last week ahead of peak summer demand.
Market sentiment has been pressured by comments from Opec ministers that the group will keep its output unchanged rather than further cutting supplies at its Thursday meeting in Vienna. The group has agreed to two previous cuts since last autumn, amounting to 1.7 million barrels per day.