Oil prices have increased due to a weaker dollar, despite a large buildup of inventories.
Brent crude oil futures risen 56 cents to $51.89 a barrel, while the US crude futures edged up 42 cents to $48.23 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Last week, crude inventories in the US rose by 3.1 million barrels to 461 million after a cut in production by refineries, in addition to idling of capacity, which is against analysts’ expectation of a 2.2 million barrels increase.
Prices are pushed higher by a weaker dollar, as investors temporarily overlooked an unexpected increase in inventory in the country.
Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch told the news agency: "Those expectations drove prices upwards, so that’s being reassessed and it’s possible we’ll see prices dropping below $50 again."
The crude complex received support due to a weak dollar ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
A weak dollar could make the commodity cheaper for non-dollar investors to buy assets that are dollar-denominated.
A report released by the US Energy Information Administration on Tuesday anticipated an increase in global oil demand for 2016.
