04:40 AM EDT, 03/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Crude oil prices bounced back early Thursday as investors reassessed recent US crude oil and gasoline inventory reports and returned to buying mode.

Brent crude gained 0.5% to US$86.53 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to US$81.83/b at last look early Thursday. This comes after prices eased due to a rise in US crude inventories of 3.2 million barrels, as reported by the US Energy Information Administration.

Gasoline stockpiles in the US also rose 1.3 million barrels in the report week. This resulted in gasoline futures trading at their lowest level in nearly two weeks. Implied demand was below 9 million b/d for the second week in a row.

However, the crude inventory build was smaller than the build forecast by the American Petroleum Institute, Reuters said in a Thursday report. "We ... expect U.S. inventories to rise less than normal in reflection of a global oil market in a slight deficit," Reuters quoted Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, as saying. "This will likely hand support to the Brent crude oil price going forward."

Supply side issues also remain in focus ahead of the OPEC Joint Monitoring Ministerial Committee next week, ANZ Bank said in a Thursday note.

Expectations of the group recommending any change to the current production agreement are low, but any sign of members not adhering to the output quotas will be seen as a bearish sign, the bank noted.