Oil struggles for clear direction as it holds at $81.50

London: Oil failed to find momentum in either direction for a clear move away from $81.50 (Dh299) Wednesday as investors waited for data on US stocks or Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' monthly report ahead of next week's meeting to provide impetus.

US crude for April delivery was flat at $81.49 by 1028 GMT. It had earlier risen to within 80 cents of Monday's peak of $82.41, the highest level since prices jumped to a 15-month high of $83.95 on January 11. London ICE Brent for April edged up 7 cents to $79.98.

"There's a little bit of reticence about striking out one way or the other ... there's not enough information to herald decisively a bull run," said Paul Harris, head of energy and emissions at Bank of Ireland.

Kick to score direction

Crude prices need a fundamental kick to score direction.

"Technically, there are still no clear trends on WTI," said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix in a note.

"WTI is maintained ... close enough to $82 per barrel for the bulls to try another attack at that resistance level upon the delivery of the (US) statistics as there will necessarily be one positive item in the weekly report," he added.

US inventory statistics from the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be published at 1530 GMT.

The American Petroleum Institute's figures, published on Tuesday, showed US crude inventories rose by 6.5 million barrels in the week to March 5, against analysts' forecasts for a gain of 1.9 million barrels.

But Jakob said the crude stock build could be an alignment with the energy department figures.

More indications on global supply and demand should come from Opec's March report expected yesterday.

Further support for prices came from China, where oil imports data boosted evidence emerging that Asian economies will lead global demand back into growth this year.