Summary Oil prices edged higher, recovering some of losses that were prompted by increased US oil output.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices edged higher Thursday, recovering some of the losses from the previous day s session that were prompted by increased US oil output.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 43 cents to $44.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
European benchmark Brent oil for November delivery added 42 cents at $48.17 a barrel in London.
WTI had fallen more than four percent Wednesday after a Department of Energy report showed a modest rise in US oil production for the week ending September 18, halting a six-week streak of output declines.
Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said there were no major petroleum market stories and attributed Thursday s gain to "a lot of volatility."
Analysts said a supply glut will continue to limit gains. Oil prices have fallen from more than $100 a barrel in July 2014 to below $50 a barrel for most of 2015.
"The overall picture remains unchanged: the market is oversupplied at the current edge, which will be alleviated in the medium term by a reduction in US oil output," Commerzbank said.
Citi Futures analyst Tim Evans said the declines in production thus far are not sufficient to tilt the market.
"We ll stick with our base case lower for longer scenario" in terms of oil prices, Evans said.
