Investing.com - Oil futures edged higher on Thursday, one day after falling to three-week lows as oversupply concerns remained a factor for oil markets.
Crude oil for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 44 cents, or 0.97%, to trade at $45.64 a barrel during European morning hours.
A day earlier, Nymex oil prices tumbled $1.09, or 2.35%. It earlier fell to $44.86, the lowest since October 2, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose much more than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by 8.0 million barrels last week. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock rise of 3.9 million barrels.
At 476.6 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for December delivery inched up 42 cents, or 0.88%, to trade at $48.27 a barrel. On Wednesday, Brent futures lost 86 cents, or 1.77%, after hitting a session low of $47.50, a level not seen since October 2.
Oil experts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member countries made no agreement to take new steps to boost prices, officials said after talks in Vienna on Wednesday. OPEC's own meeting to set policy is not until December 4.
The oil market has been volatile in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink. Despite this tighter outlook for North America, output remains robust in other countries.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (N:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. decreased by 10 last week to 595, the seventh straight weekly decline. Over the prior six weeks, drillers had cut 70 rigs.
However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC members have indicated in recent months that they will continue to stick to their policy of defending market share by keeping production high.
Oil prices have lost nearly 60% since last summer as lingering concerns over a glut in world markets drove down prices.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $2.63 a barrel, compared to $2.65 by close of trade on Wednesday.