Benchmark Nymex crude for October traded two cents higher at $72.07 a barrel in early Asian afternoon action on Globex, recovering on the back of gains in regional equities after dropping as low as $71.35 earlier in the day.
The front-month contract jumped above the $75-a-barrel level in U.S. trading for the first time in 10 months, before reversing direction on profit-taking. The futures contract ended $2.32, or 3.1%, lower at $72.05 Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
September natural gas futures were flat after dropping 4.1 cents, or 1.4%, to $2.882 per million British thermal units on the Nymex. See full story.
The Energy Information Administration is due to release its closely watched report on inventories later Wednesday, with analysts surveyed by Platts expecting a drop of 2.7 million barrels in crude inventories in the week ended Aug. 21.
"If last week's sharp drop in U.S. crude oil imports and inventories can be confirmed by today's data, this would likely push prices higher again," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a report
