Oil prices up over fears of weak oil demand in US

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices slightly rose on Thursday over demand worries after a higher-than-expected increase in oil stockpiles in the US, the world's largest oil consumer.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $82.75 per barrel at 09.22 a.m. local time (0622GMT), a 0.10% increase from the closing price of $82.67 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $77.48 per barrel at the same time, a 0.09% increase after the previous session closed at $77.41 a barrel.

US commercial crude oil inventories increased by around 19 million barrels to 439.6 million barrels, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

Market expectation was a decline of around 2.4 million barrels.

An increase in crude stocks signaled falling crude demand in the US and weighed on oil prices.

Renewed hopes of a demand increase in China, the world's biggest oil importer, supported upward price movements while growing fears about further interest rate hikes in the US limited further price upticks.