21.12.202308:46:00UTC+00Oil Slightly Higher In Choppy Trade

Oil prices were slightly higher in choppy trade on Thursday despite lingering demand concerns and a stronger dollar.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.3 percent to $79.92 a barrel and WTI crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $74.41 amid renewed worries about possible disruptions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal because of recent attacks by the Yemeni rebel group Houthis.

The upside remained capped after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, compared with expectations for a 2.3-million-barrel drop, raising concerns about demand at the world's largest consumer.

EIA also said U.S. crude output rose to a record 13.3 million barrels per day last week, up from the prior all-time high of 13.2 million barrels.

Meanwhile, the dollar recovered from near five-month lows amid uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will begin trimming interest rates.

A rout in equity markets also drove some safe-haven demand for the dollar ahead of key U.S. GDP and the Fed's preferred inflation data due this week.