LONDON: Brent crude oil held steady above $112 a barrel on Wednesday as investors awaited inventory data from the United States for clues to demand in the world's largest oil consumer.
Brent crude was 10 cents up at $112.52 a barrel by 1023 GMT. US crude for March rose 11 cents to $96.79, off a four-month high of $96.90 hit earlier.
Appetite for riskier assets was buoyed on Tuesday by the Bank of Japan's plans to shore up the world's third largest economy and strong investor confidence data from Germany.
These added to upbeat economic data this month from the top two economies, the United States and China.
But oil underperformed, pressured as a narrower victory for hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing party at the expense of the centre-left was seen as limiting chances of an Israeli strike on Iran.
"The elections have not increased the risk of Israel attacking Iran. The composition of the parliament seems to point that he would not have a very strong majority to attack," according to Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
Brent crude reached its highest in around three weeks on Tuesday, and is close to a three-month high, supported by relatively benign economic data from the United States and China and more optimism in the markets in recent months.
"Crude oil has been relatively well supported since the start of the year now the question is where do we go from here. Volatility is pretty low right now but it could increase," Jakob said.
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