Oil prices up in Asia amid volatile trading

SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (AFP): Oil prices rose in Asia Friday as dealers digested a mixed US inventory report and a new round of interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, while keeping watch on the Ukraine conflict.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery gained 31 cents to $94.76 while Brent crude for October delivery was up 27 cents at $102.10 in late-afternoon trade.
Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at business consultancy EY, said oil prices were "see-sawing" as dealers tracked simultaneous upside and downside factors.
US crude reserves in the United States in the week to August 29 fell 900,000 barrels, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday, close to analysts' expectations.
However, a 0.2 per centage point drop in refinery usage to 93.3 per cent of total capacity signalled tepid demand in the world's top crude consumer after the end of the summer driving season.