Oil prices crept higher today ahead of new data on the health of fuel stockpiles in the key US market and on expectations OPEC will leave output limits unchanged.
US light crude climbed six cents to $27.25 a barrel.
Traders are unlikely to take fresh positions ahead of tomorrow's ministerial meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Several ministers have already said the group's 25.4 million barrel-a-day production ceiling should stay unchanged, with current prices well within OPEC's $22-$28 a barrel target range for its reference basket of seven crudes.
The group is reviewing the supply/demand balance and output policy as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter, and there are lingering concerns of a possible supply crunch in the coldest months of the year.