Oil held above $62 on Wednesday ahead of weekly data that is expected to show another large build in crude stocks in the United States, as worries over disruptions to global supplies persist. The new front-month US light crude for May delivery was up 6 cents to $62.40 a barrel. London Brent crude gained 9 cents to $62.22.
"The only news will be the US stocks. But on the geopolitical front, the upside risk is more than the downside," said Hiroyuki Katakana, director of commodities business of Barclays Capital from Tokyo.
Analysts forecast crude oil stocks to show an increase of 2.5 million barrels in the world's largest oil consumer, the sixth consecutive build, when the US Department of Energy releases its weekly data later on Wednesday.
Hefty crude imports in recent months have already boosted crude stocks to seven-year highs, providing the US with a comfortable cushion against supply disruptions. But supply cuts in Nigeria caused by militant attacks and Iran's face-off with the West over its nuclear programme have provided sustained support to the oil market.
Tensions also persisted in South American oil producer Ecuador, which declared a state of emergency in five central provinces on Tuesday to try to control protests by Indians demanding the government quit US free-trade talks.
This came after a strike by workers at State Company Petroecuador cut crude output this month.
"Longer term. we're very clearly in a major bull market but the shorter term is definitely a bit fuzzier and technically more difficult to predict," said a broker at ABM Amro in New York.
Iran said on Tuesday it would not be bullied by the US over its nuclear programme and was not worried that the country had been referred to the UN Security Council. The Council, in a position to impose sanctions that could prompt Iran to retaliate by cutting off oil supply, is deadlocked on the wording of a statement pressing the world's fourth-largest oil exporter to end activities that could lead to it making a nuclear weapon.
"We emphasise that nuclear technology and the nuclear fuel cycle is our absolute right. The nation, I and other officials will not yield to America's bullying language by any means," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech.
The Security Council on Tuesday postponed its scheduled closed-door meeting on Iran so changes could be made to the draft statement that Russia and China, which are pushing for more diplomacy to resolve the issue, have refused to endorse.
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