Oil traded near its lowest closing level in six weeks as cautious hopes that the U.S.-China trade pact will support demand were offset by signs of ample supply.

Futures held near $58 a barrel on Thursday after settling the previous day at the lowest since Dec. 3. While the deal between Washington and Beijing promises increased Chinese purchases of American energy, and defuses some of the tensions that weighed on global markets last year, U.S. government data showed that combined inventories of crude and refined products rose to their highest since September.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $57.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11:04 a.m. in London. The contract fell 0.7% to close at $57.81 on Wednesday.

Brent for March settlement climbed 0.4% to $64.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after closing down 0.8% on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $6.33 premium to WTI for the same month.

Source : Bloomberg