US crude and Brent crude oil prices tick up after sliding to multi-year lows
Oil prices edged off multi-year lows this afternoon as investors closed bets prices would fall ahead of the holidays.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained 0.36 per cent at $35.93 per barrel this afternoon, while the global benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.1 per cent at $36.25 per barrel.
"The sentiment has been very negative and ahead of the holidays people tend to close some of the speculative positions," Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, said.
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"Therefore we could see some upside potential in oil prices."
Oil prices fell to their lowest level in more than 11 years yesterday. The sell-off came as demand for heating oil slumped on warmer-than-normal temperatures, feeding into oversupply concerns.