Oil prices rebound after recent losses; oversupply, demand concerns persist

At 04:45 ET (09:45 GMT), Brent oil futures for January rose 0.7% to $63.98 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.9% to $60.15 a barrel.

Both contracts slid some 1% each on Wednesday, having fallen a third straight month in October.

Trump administration to start cutting flights 

Crude prices have bounced Thursday as traders saw some value after sharp losses on Wednesday as data showed an unexpected build in U.S. oil inventories.

Expectations of more disruptions in U.S. fuel demand also weighed on crude.

The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to begin cutting flights from Friday, by up to 10% at 40 high-volume airports amid safety concerns stemming from a lack of air traffic controllers, transportation secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday.

The planned cuts come as a U.S. government shutdown entered its 36th consecutive day, disrupting government services in wide swathes of the country. About 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 transportation security agents have been working without pay due to the shutdown.

Tens of thousands of flights were delayed since the shutdown began, while shortages in TSA staffers also caused overcrowding at major airports.

A cut in flight numbers points to weaker fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.