Crude-oil futures traded over $60-a-barrel on Wednesday ahead of data that could show a decline in weekly inventories.
Crude was trading up 39 cents to $60.49 a barrel.
Analysts surveyed by energy-information provider Platts expect a 1.5-million-barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories. The data is due at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
"Over the past month, crude-oil prices have risen from $45/bbl to around $60/bbl more due to the vagaries of equity markets and a weakened U.S. dollar than inventories," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank.
"Relying on equity markets and the dollar to support oil prices alone will be insufficient. For prices to be sustained at current levels in the coming weeks, further evidence of lower inventories needs to materialize."
