Brent rises to $94.50, WTI crude crosses $93

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, recovering from losses in the previous session, amid conflicting statements on the possible withdrawal of some Russian troops from around Ukraine.

The international benchmark Brent crude was trading up 1.3% at $94.49 per barrel, at 2.00 pm Makkah time.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.22% to $93.19 a barrel.

Contrary to Russia’s claim that it had started partial withdrawal of troops near Ukraine, NATO said Russia was in fact increasing its troop count at the Ukrainian border.

US President Joe Biden also warned that the possibilities of a military action against Ukraine are still high. He stressed that the US will impose economic sanctions against Moscow if that happens.

Separately, head of International Energy Agency's (IEA) Fatih Birol said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) needed to narrow the gap between their oil production targets and actual output, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that US oil inventories decreased by 1.1 million barrels per day in the week ended Feb. 11.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on US crude inventories is expected later today.