Oil futures traded near unchanged early Wednesday, after giving back a modest rise following a short-lived weekend rebellion in Russia by the Wagner Group mercenary force that raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power.
Traders were awaiting official data on U.S. crude oil and product inventories Wednesday morning after industry data showed drops in crude and gasoline stocks.
West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $67.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
August Brent crude gained 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $72.33 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. September Brent, the most actively traded contract, was up 3 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $72.54 a barrel.
Back on Nymex, July gasoline rose 1.4% to $2.552 a gallon, while July heating oil was unchanged at $2.399 a gallon.
July natural gas rose 0.5% to $2.777 per million British thermal units.
Oil bounced modestly Monday as investors largely took in stride the brief mutiny that saw Wagner Group forces advance to within around 120 miles of Moscow before being called off by the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday.
Crude fell back Tuesday, with oil unable to shake worries over the economic outlook. European central banks last week delivered a series of interest rate increases that stoked recession fears for the region.
Source : MarketWatch
