Oil prices steady as China demand concerns offset drop in U.S. crude stocks – Reuters

Oil prices steady as China demand concerns offset drop in U.S. crude stocks – Reuters

MELBOURNE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more sharply than expected last week, highlighting supply tightness ahead of a looming European Union ban and G7 price cap on Russian oil.

Brent crude futures gained 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $88.61 a barrel at 0101 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.4%, to $81.30 a barrel.

Both benchmark contracts rose about 1% in the previous session as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Algeria reinforced comments from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, together called OPEC+, were not considering boosting oil output. OPEC+ next meets to review output on Dec. 4.