• WTI remains stable despite hopes of a recovery in demand in China and tensions in the Middle East.
• A larger-than-expected boost in crude oil inventories in the US limits the price of the raw material in the face of a rising dollar.
• Traders are now anxiously awaiting official U.S. stock data for near-term opportunities.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are in positive territory for the third day in a row on Wednesday and are at around $71.00 during the Asian session. The commodity remains close to the more than one-week high reached on Tuesday amid hopes of improving demand from China and geopolitical threats arising from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Investors remain hopeful that China’s recently announced massive stimulus measures will spark a sustained recovery in the world’s second-largest economy and boost fuel consumption in the world’s largest oil importing country. It further expresses concerns that further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could impact supply in the key oil-producing region and tighten market balances in the coming months. These are proving to be key factors supporting oil prices.

Meanwhile, industry data released on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week by 1.64 million barrels. Additionally, the ongoing rise in the US dollar (USD) to its highest level since early August, boosted by bets on smaller interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed), is keeping bullish traders from making novel bets and hiding the possibility of any further moves in oil price appreciation.

Market participants are now eagerly awaiting the official U.S. government data on oil stocks, which will gain novel momentum next Wednesday. In addition, fresh geopolitical events and USD price dynamics should support create near-term trading opportunities around oil prices.