Oil prices up ahead of US stockpiles data, Fed meeting

World oil prices rose today as traders awaited the release of US energy stockpiles data and a US central bank decision on interest rates.
At around 1230 GMT (1700 IST), the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery, a new contract, pushed 84 cents higher at USD 44.89 per barrel.
North Sea Brent oil for November increased 73 cents at USD 46.61 a barrel.
Two factors being closely watched this week are the Federal Reserve's decision on US interest rates and stockpile numbers to be released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), dealers said.
A move by the Fed's policy-setting committee to raise interest rates will likely boost the dollar and make oil more expensive for holders of other currencies, denting demand and prices.

Most commentators, however, expect the US central bank to keep borrowing costs at current levels.

Analysts also forecast the weekly US commercial crude inventories to register a significant increase, which would further add to stubborn supply glut concerns.
"The oil market remains on standby," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
"The market has so far been expecting today's official (EIA) data to show a sizeable inventory build, especially since declining refinery processing tends to drive up crude oil stocks in the autumn."
Market expectations are for US commercial crude reserves to have jumped by 3.25 million barrels in the week to September 16, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg News.

Meanwhile, the first crude shipment from Libya in two years had no immediate impact on prices a week before OPEC producers and Russia meet in Algeria to discuss ways to stabilise prices.
An oil tanker left the Libyan port of Ras Lanouf for Italy yesterday, in the first shipment since late 2014 when fighting erupted over control of the "oil crescent", an official said.
"The amount of oil coming out of Libya is fairly limited so it won't have a material impact on crude prices today," Singapore-based Oanda analyst Jeffrey Halley told AFP.
He said the shipment was meant to have gone out last weekend but was delayed because of fighting at the port.

"This is indicative of the unpredictability of Libyan oil production because the fighting means that we don't know how sustained their output can be," Halley added.
In a separate development, Russia revealed today that its oil production hit a record level of more than 11 million barrels per day (mbpd) earlier this month.
The announcement, made by deputy energy minister Kirill Molodtsov, was reported by Russian news agencies.