Crude oil prices opened higher with gains at the start of Thursday's trading as U.S. crude oil inventories declined by less than market expectations.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $62.78 per barrel at 0715 GMT for a 0.3% gain, after closing Wednesday at $62.59 a barrel with a 0.85% daily increase.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $57.56 a barrel at the same time for a 0.24% increase, after ending the previous session at $57.42 per barrel with a daily gain of 1.09%.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. are estimated to decrease by 500,000 barrels for the week ending Nov. 7, according to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) data, compared to previous market expectations of a withdrawal of 1.65 million barrels.
The official figure for the weekly change in the U.S.' crude oil inventories will be released later on Thursday.
On the demand side, crude oil prices, which are indexed to the U.S. dollar, could come under pressure with the rising value of the greenback.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted Wednesday that the central bank could put an end to rate hikes this year, which caused gains in the dollar against other currencies.
'We see the current stance of monetary policy as likely to remain appropriate...' Powell said during his speech before the Joint Economic Committee in the U.S. Congress.
He said the Fed would keeps its stance 'as long as incoming information about the economy remains broadly consistent with our outlook of moderate economic growth, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2% objective.'
The central bank has lowered its benchmark interest rate three times this year, but is still under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump who wants lower rates to increase the U.S.' exports and lower its trade deficit.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr