Oil prices rise on weaker dollar, expected U.S. stockpiles drop

Oil prices recovered losses from previous session on Wednesday on weaker U.S. dollar and expectations that U.S. crude inventories have dropped.

The dollar declined against other major currencies on Wednesday as investors were digesting the newly-released Federal Reserve minutes. A weaker dollar makes greenback-denominated commodities like crude oil less expensive and more attractive to holders of other currencies.

In addition, weekly U.S. industry and government reports are expected to show a 2 million-barrel crude draw for last week, according to several media surveys.

The West Texas Intermediate for February Delivery added 0.93 dollars to settle at 53.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery increased 0.99 dollars to close at 56.46 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem