Investing.com - Oil prices struggled for direction in European trade on Wednesday, staying near a two-month low as market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 14:30GMT, or 10:30AM ET, Wednesday amid expectations for a drop of 2.1 million barrels.
Gasoline stockpiles are expected to decline by 833,000 barrels while stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, are forecast to increase by 600,000 barrels, according to analysts.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended July 15. But it also showed there was an unexpected gasoline build of 805,000 barrels. For distillate inventories including diesel, API reported a draw of 484,000 barrels.
Crude oil for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 3 cents, or 0.07%, to trade at $45.42 a barrel by 07:54GMT, or 3:54AM ET.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil futures sank to $45.28, just above a two-month low of $44.44, amid signs of an ongoing recovery in U.S. drilling activity.
According to oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by six last week to 357, the third straight weekly rise and the sixth increase in seven weeks.
The renewed gain in U.S. drilling activity fueled speculation that domestic production could be on the verge of rebounding in the weeks ahead, underlining worries over a supply glut.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery inched up 2 cents, or 0.04%, to $46.68 a barrel, after falling 30 cents, or 0.64%, on Tuesday, amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut.