Oil rose nearly 2% early on Wednesday after industry data showed crude inventories in the United States dropped sharply, but analysts said uncertainty had crept into the market amid growing suspense over the result of the U.S. presidential election.
Oil prices dropped more than 10% last week with rising coronavirus cases around the world and more restrictions on movement hitting demand prospects. U.S. oil has nearly recouped those losses in three days of gains this week in the run-up to the election. Crude stockpiles fell by 8 million barrels last week to about 487 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.More lockdowns could put a cap on oil price gains as Italy, Norway and Hungary tightened COVID-19 restrictions, following the UK, France and other countries.