• Crude futures edged up on Wednesday despite mostly bearish forecasts for the weekly US crude inventory data due to be released later today. At 11:29 GMT, Mar Brent on ICE traded 23 cents higher at $89.05/b and front-month NYMEX WTI was up 22 cents at $88.63/b.

•Earlier, crude had lost some ground as a result of "overnight selling out of Asia but there is a recovery trend," a London-based analyst said. Analysts expect US crude stocks to show a 2.6 million barrel build when the EIA and API release weekly data at 15:30 GMT.

• Recession woes have been the main price driver in the energy complex as investors watch economic data to gauge the level of economic slowdown, which could ultimately impact oil demand. "The last $3-4/b drop in crude came from economic worries. There's really no fundamental reason for that. There was no fundamental reason to be at $100/b either, so there is some technical correction involved," said the London-based analyst.

•Significant downside pressure came Tuesday from a 300-point loss on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a downturn in the Institute for Supply Management's Non-Manufacturing Index, indicating a slowdown in the service sector. "The contraction within the service sector was larger than expected and contributed to a huge selloff in the equity markets," independent energy consultant Jim Ritterbusch said in a report.

Updated: February 6, 2008