09:07 AM EST, 02/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices edged higher early on Thursday despite a report showing another big rise in U.S. inventories last week.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March delivery was last seen up US$0.17 to US$72.42 per barrel, while April Brent crude was up US$0.33 to US$76.37.

In its weekly survey released Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. oil inventories rose by 3.34-million barrels last week, above the 2.2-milllion barrel rise consensus estimate from analysts polled by Reuters. The Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data later on Thursday, a day later than usual due to the U.S. Presidents' Day holiday.

The rise in U.S. oil stocks is a bearish note in a market being supported by pipeline outages and tightening sanctions on exports from Russia and Iran. But despite short-term supply and demand issues, prices have steadily weakened after rising above US$80 per barrel in mid-January, with WTI oil down 4.8% over the past month.

"The market continues to lack a clear direction, with supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and the OPEC+ production increase delay being offset by global demand worries," Saxo Bank noted.