US oil prices edge higher, Brent down

NEW YORK: US oil prices rebounded slightly on Wednesday helped by some encouraging industrial data, but a rise in US stockpiles and more eurozone uncertainty kept a cap on the gains.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery, closed up 13 cents from Monday, at $92.76 a barrel.

But London's prices weakened, with Brent North Sea crude losing 84 cents to $111.92 a barrel.

The market saw a sign of strength in the US economy from data on durable goods orders in January, which rose 1.9 percent if volatile aircraft orders are stripped out.

Capital goods orders were even stronger, suggesting business confidence in the economy in the coming months.

But weekly data showed US crude stockpiles continued to grow, putting downward pressure on prices. American crude inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels last week, according to the Department of Energy.

"The inventory report was more or less what people expected, a slight increase in crude and product down," said Michael Lynch, of Strategic Energy and Economic Research.

Worries about a prolonged fight to form a new government in crisis-mired Italy also kept a cloud over the eurozone, which is struggling to pull out of recession.

The Italian election results sent Brent futures tumbling $1.73 a barrel Tuesday.

"It would appear that financial investors are currently withdrawing from the market amid concerns that reforms could be halted in the wake of the Italian elections and that the euro crisis could flare up again," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.