2018.08.2906:33:00UTC+00Oil Prices Hold Firm Ahead Of US Inventory Report

Oil markets held steady on Wednesday as signs of falling supplies from Iran ahead of U.S. sanctions were offset by rising non-OPEC oil production.

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures were up 16 cents at $76.45 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 25 cents at $68.78 a barrel.

With U.S. sanctions against Iran set to begin in November, market participants expect Iranian oil exports to drop at a faster-than-expected pace.

Imports by its key customers have all dropped in August as many crude buyers reduced orders, fearing Washington's penalties. Political instability in Venezuela has also triggered expectations of a tightening global oil market.

Meanwhile, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, supply outages from non-OPEC countries are expected to be resolved soon with Canada's Syncrude facility bringing production back online.

A new agreement between Sudan and South Sudan on a peace deal as well as production increases expected in Canada, Brazil and the U.S. will add new supply in the second half of 2018, BofAML wrote in a note.

After the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise oil inventory build for the week ending August 25, the official data on U.S. inventory levels is due for release by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later in the day.