Oil steadied in Asia as investors weighed the outlook for monetary policy and a mixed industry report on US crude stockpiles.

West Texas Intermediate futures traded near $68 a barrel after closing 2.4% lower in the previous session. The European Central Bank said on Tuesday that it probably won't be able to end its cycle of interest-rate hikes anytime soon, which will likely present headwinds for the demand outlook.

The American Petroleum Institute reported US crude stockpiles fell last week, but inventories at the key storage hub at Cushing rose, according to people familiar with the figures. Government data is due later Wednesday.

Oil in New York is down 14% this year and is on track for its first back-to-back quarterly decline since 2019 due to a dour macroeconomic outlook, especially a lackluster recovery from China. Resilient Russian production, even in the face of Western sanctions, has added to the pressure on prices.

Still, a flurry of fresh data showed unexpected strength in several areas of the US economy -- including housing, manufacturing and consumer data -- painting a picture of resilience and reducing the likelihood a US recession is just around the corner.

WTI for August delivery rose 0.3% to $67.90 a barrel at 7:45 a.m. in Singapore.

Brent for August settlement closed 2.6% lower at $72.26 a barrel on Tuesday.

Source : Bloomberg