LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters): Oil prices rose on Wednesday as the American Petroleum Institute reported a drop in US crude inventories and investors awaited the next steps in talks to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now.
Crude fell more than 1 per cent on Tuesday on optimism that an agreement to end the war seemed closer. However, US President Donald Trump conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal.
Brent crude futures rose 71 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $66.50 a barrel by 1207 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery, set to expire on Wednesday, gained 84 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $63.19.
"It seems oil prices are thrown down one day, followed by a rebound the next day. The API report was on the positive side, so I assume some price support is coming from that," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.
US crude stocks fell by 2.42 million barrels, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures, ahead of official data at 1430 GMT.
"Not so sure about the peace deal - will have to see if something moves forward over the coming days," Staunovo added.
Trump said on Tuesday the United States might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
A day earlier, Trump said he was arranging a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. Russia has not confirmed it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy.
