Oil prices edged up after two days of losses.
Prices changed as traders awaited the release of US weekly inventory data for further proof that recovering refinery operations had lifted gasoline supplies.
London Brent crude for September, seen as a better benchmark of oil prices at the moment, rose 15 cents to $75.68 a barrel after it fell 76 cents a day ago from Monday's $78.40 peak, near last August's record high.
US light crude for August delivery rose 14 cents to $74.16 a barrel, erasing Tuesday's losses.
Gasoline and distillates stocks in the world's biggest consumer are expected to have each risen by 900,000 barrels, the third straight week of increases, according to an expanded poll of 14 analysts.
Crude stocks that have hovered at their highest in nine years were expected to have eased by 200,000 barrels as refinery utilisation improved, putting renewed focus on crude supplies as Opec shows no intention of relaxing its supply curbs.
The US Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report today.
'Tightness in crude supply is expected to spread to the US over time, as US refineries emerge from extended maintenance shutdowns,' said Antoine Halff, analyst with Fimat USA.
Close to 550,000 barrels per day of crude output, or 18 per cent of the country's capacity, remain shut in in Nigeria.
The improving outlook for US gasoline supplies as the peak summer driving season nears the halfway mark has weighed heavily on gasoline prices, which have slumped for five consecutive days, losing 11 per cent of their value since a week ago.
August gasoline rose by 0.13 cent to $2.1020 a gallon after falling 2.55 cents lower a day ago. Its premium to crude oil, called the crack spread, has shrunk sharply to about $14 a barrel, its lowest since late February.
'The shrinking crack spread is the important factor to watch for market direction over the next few days,' said Tetsu Emori of Astmax Futures in Tokyo.
Speculative investors have helped push prices up by some $5 earlier this month by injecting cash into commodities amid concerns world demand growth will continue to stretch supplies.
The New York Mercantile Exchange said open interest for its crude oil contract and for several Brent crude oil contracts it offers climbed to new highs on Monday.Reuters