Investing.com - Oil prices were little changed on Thursday ahead of weekly inventory data from the U.S. government expected to show another build in fuel stockpiles.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the key indicator for U.S. crude, settled down 18 cents, or 0.3%, at $53.13 per barrel.
London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, settled up two cents at $56.10.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to report on Friday closing balances for crude, gasoline and diesel-led distillates for last week.
Analysts estimate that crude stockpiles fell 1.7 million barrels last week to extend the declining trend of the previous three weeks.
Similarly, fuel products were expected to continue with their recent ways as refinery output outpaces consumption amid the coronavirus pandemic. The estimate for gasoline inventories is a build of 2.8 million barrels, while for distillates, a hike of 1.2 million is expected.
Prior to the EIA data release will be a preliminary inventory snapshot due at 4:30 pm ET (21:30 GMT) from the American Petroleum Institute.