Oil prices gain 1% after steep declines on Tuesday

Oil prices rose over 1 percent on Wednesday after plunging over 7 percent yesterday to a one-year low of $62 a barrel, supported by an unexpected decline in US commercial crude inventories.

International benchmark Brent crude futures were last trading up at 86 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $63.39 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 74 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $54.17 a barrel.

The price recovery comes after the American Petroleum Institute said US commercial crude inventories last week fell unexpectedly by 1.5 million barrels, to 439.2 million, in the week to Nov. 16. 

Meanwhile, US investment bank Goldman Sachs said that the renewed price collapse reflected “concerns over excess supply in 2019... (and) a broader cross-commodity and cross-asset sell-off as growth concerns continue to mount.”

Additionally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned of unprecedented uncertainty in oil markets due to a difficult economic environment and political risk.

“The global economy is still going through a 'very difficult time and is very fragile',” IEA chief Fatih Birol said.