Oil struggles to recover after U.S. gasoline stocks build | Reuters

Oil struggles to recover after U.S. gasoline stocks build | Reuters

Oil prices ticked up on Thursday but struggled to fully recover from the previous session’s losses when a build in U.S. gasoline inventories signalled a deteriorating outlook for fuel demand as coronavirus cases soar.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 22 cents at $41.95 a barrel at 0803 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures ticked up 17 cents to $40.20 a barrel. Both contracts shed more than 3% on Wednesday in their steepest daily falls in three weeks.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 1.9 million barrels in the week to Oct. 16, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, compared with expectations for a 1.8 million-barrel drop.