Oil steady as investors shift focus to demand signals

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters): Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and shifted their attention to market fundamentals after a stockdraw in the United States.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $68.02 a barrel by 1055 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 35 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $65.27 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient US demand. Brent futures are trading below their close of $69.36 on June 12, the day before Israel started air strikes on Iran.

Investors are shifting their focus to macroeconomics and oil balances, while monitoring the Israel-Iran truce, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said oil prices had tracked equity markets so far on Thursday, while ANZ analysts said the US driving season had started slowly but was now stoking demand.

US crude oil and fuel inventories fell in the week to June 20 as refining activity and demand rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels, the EIA said, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw.

Gasoline stocks unexpectedly fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 381,000-barrel build as gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to its highest level since December 2021.

On Saturday, Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, said OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, could bring forward its output hikes by around a year from an initial plan.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said Washington would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week.

Trump also said on Wednesday that the US was maintaining maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild.