Crude oil little changed ahead of U.S. data

Crude oil futures were little changed on Wednesday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. manufacturing activity data and crude oil inventories later in the day, amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD107.29 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.05%. 

Investors remained cautious as weaker U.S. data recently dampened expectations that the Fed will scale back its easing program later this year. 

Last week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could start tapering bond buying by the end of the year if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.” 

The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand. 

Markets were also jittery after the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to an 11-month low of 47.7 in July, from a final reading of 48.2 last month. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 48.6. 

China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. 

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. oil inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels, well below the 2.6 million barrel decline forecast by analysts. 

Recent oil inventory reports have shown that demand has been on the rise in the U.S. in the past few months. 

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery slid 0.33% to trade at USD108.06 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD0.77 a barrel.