Oil rises as Moscow peace talks fail to reach breakthrough

Oil prices climbed 1% on Wednesday after Russia said talks with U.S. officials in Moscow failed to reach a compromise on a potential Ukraine peace deal that could have eased sanctions on its oil sector.

Brent crude was up 53 cents, or 0.8%, at $62.98 by 11:44 a.m. ET (1644 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 62 cents, or 1.06%, to $59.26. Both contracts fell more than 1% in the previous session.

Gains were, however, held back by rising U.S. inventories. U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, adding to fears of an oversupply.

Crude inventories rose by 574,000 barrels in the week ended November 28, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for an 821,000-barrel draw.

Gasoline stocks rose by 4.52 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel build. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.1 million barrels versus expectations for a 0.7 million-barrel rise. The data was delayed and did not publish at 10:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT) as expected, with the agency citing technical difficulties.