Singapore - Oil prices rose in Asia on Wednesday, with dealers buying cheaper crude ahead of key economic releases from the United States, analysts said.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in July added 43 cents to $93.74 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July increased 13 cents to $103.37.
“We're seeing a rebound on the back of a drop in WTI prices,” Jason Hughes, head of sales trading at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.
“The market is waiting for US (jobs figures). They came in on the upside last month, and dealers are looking to see how strong this month's jobs data will be.”
Brent prices closed more than $1 higher on Tuesday, supported by growing concerns about the civil war in Syria after France said it had proof that chemical weapons had been deployed by President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
UN investigators said earlier on Tuesday they had “reasonable grounds” to believe that both sides in Syria had used chemical weapons, the first time they have made such an allegation since beginning their work in 2011.
David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said traders were also looking towards the latest US stockpiles report released later on Wednesday.
“There's more pressure coming out of the US. We're also at the start of the driving season, in which we can expect the prices of crude to tick up,” he told reporters. - Sapa-AFP