Oil prices traded higher today after a two-day retreat to stay within sight of $60 a barrel after US data showed demand there was strong.
Yesterday's US inventory figures provided little fresh direction. Crude oil stocks eased further from recent six-year highs, but product supplies rose as refiners worked at near full-throttle to meet demand.
The data were in line with expectations. US light sweet crude was up 30 cents at $58.39 a barrel in Asian trading, having slid 95 cents or 1.6 per cent a day ago.
On Tuesday, the front-month contract hit a high of $59.70 a barrel, a record since the exchange started trade in 1983.
US demand for distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, has risen 6.9 per cent from a year ago while stockpiles are still below average, driving worries that refiners may be ill-prepared to meet peak winter demand for the fuels.
Oil prices have soared nearly 35 per cent since the start of the year, averaging about $10 more than in 2004, as hefty crude production from Opec does little to ease concerns about the ability of refiners to produce enough oil products.
The extra Opec oil helped boost US crude stocks to a six-year peak last month, although they have fallen for the past three weeks as refiners return from maintenance.
Crude stocks slid 1.6 million barrels last week, but are up 8 per cent from a year ago, the US Energy Information Administration said in Wednesday's report.
Petrol inventories nudged 200,000 barrels higher last week to stand 4.5 per cent higher than last year, adding to confidence that they will last the peak-demand summer driving season.