Brent crude back above $100 in Asian trade

SINGAPORE—Brent crude bounced back above $100 in Asia on Wednesday as traders went bargain-hunting after oil prices fell sharply overnight due to forecasts of a drop in US stockpiles, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in November, was up $2.16 to $77.83 per barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for November delivery gained $1.83 to $101.62.

Oil markets were buoyed by traders looking for bargains after WTI crude sank to its lowest level in a year and Brent crude tumbled below $100 per barrel in late US trade on Tuesday, analysts said.

Brent crude had not fallen below the $100-mark since early February.

“Bargain hunters have come to the market and this will provide necessary support to the markets,” said Ker Chung Yang, commodity analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

He added that crude prices were also given a slight boost from forecasts released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday of a 3.1 million drawdown in crude inventories in the world’s largest oil consumer.

Such drawdowns indicate stronger energy demand and support prices.

Crude markets have been pummeled by the ongoing eurozone debt crisis as well as the moribund US economy, with comments by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke on Tuesday adding to the gloom.

Bernanke told legislators their budget-cutting fervor could threaten an already “faltering” recovery.