Oil futures tilted higher in Asian trade away from March 17 lows as the dollar index backed off May 2020 highs ahead of US data.

Markets continue to price in latest developments on the Ukrainian crisis, which included an EU ban on coal imports, while markets price in the new Covid 19 wave in China.

As of 07:05 GMT, US crude futures due in May rose 0.33% to $97.48 a barrel, after closing down at $96.2, while Brent Jun futures rose 0.17% to $102.32 a barrel, as the dollar index fell 0.16% to 99.48.

From the US, unemployment claims are expected down by a thousand to 201K from 202K, while continuous claims are expected up 14K to 1.311 million.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its last meeting, at which policymakers voted to hike rates by 25 basis points to 0.50% for the first time since 2018, with many members preparing for 50-basis-points hikes in the future.

Official US data showed crude stocks rose 2.4 million barrels last week to 412.4 million barrels, confounding estimates of a 1.8 million barrels decline.

Gasoline stocks fell 2 million barrels to 236.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 0.8 million barrels to 114.3 million barrels.

Oil prices are rebounding from three-week lows after recent tumbles on profit-taking, leading to 12% losses, the worst such performance since April 2020, after President Joe Biden released the US strategic crude reserves.

The World Health Organization last reported 492 million Covid 19 infections, with 6.158 million deaths so far.

Baker Hughes data last week showed oil rigs rose by 2 to 533 rigs, the highest since April 2020, while US crude production rose 100 thousand bpd to 11.7 million bpd after production settled in the last eight weeks.

US crude output fell 1.4 million bpd, or 12% from record highs at 13.1 million bpd in March 2020 as several companies closed theirs rigs due to higher operating prices back then.

Official US data showed crude stocks rose 2.4 million barrels last week to 412.4 million barrels, confounding estimates of a 1.8 million barrels decline.

Gasoline stocks fell 2 million barrels to 236.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 0.8 million barrels to 114.3 million barrels.

Initial US data released yesterday showed global stocks were up 1.1 million barrels last week.

US stock indices fell on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.

The Wall Street Journal reported the US administration is preparing for new sanctions on several major Russian banks to tighten the noose on Russia's financial system.

The step comes as the US expects the Russian financial system to be "almost collapsing", putting a huge amount of pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

US and European officials outright accused Russia of committing war crimes following pictures of dead civilians in Ukrainian cities, leading to discussions of even more sanctions.

The Federal Reserve will soon reveal the minutes of its last meeting, at which the bank voted to hike rates for the first time since 2018 by 25 basis points to 0.50%.

Dow Jones fell 0.8% as of 14:51 GMT to 34,380, while S&P 500 declined 1.2% to 4,470, as NASDAQ declined 2.3% to 13,883.

Nickel prices rose on Wednesday as the dollar index climbs while supplies decline amid constant efforts to secure them.

Russia and Ukraine

Nickel has hit multi-year highs since the start of the Ukrainian war, with Moscow launching military strikes against major Ukrainian cities, disrupting shipments of metals across the Black Sea

Nickel and Palladium were particularly impacted, with their prices surging recently, as Russia is a major supplier of both metals.

Nickel prices spiked above $100 thousand tone last month, forcing UK authorities to suspend trading on this metal contracts in particular.

The metal was also boosted by recent sanctions by the EU and the US on Russia, impacting supplies even further.

EV Demand

Nickel is also highly boosted by demand in futuristic industries, especially EV cars and electronics. 

Nickel was closely related to green initiatives, whether for energy or devices or otherwise, this it makes sense that Tesla is seeking long-term contracts for securing nickel supplies.

Nickel futures rose 0.2% to $33.749 thousand a tone as of 14:40 GMT.