LONDON: Brent crude oil was steady on Wednesday, supported by optimism that European leaders will agree on bold measures to resolve the region's debt crisis at a keenly awaited summit on Friday.
Announcements of increased supply from Saudi Arabia helped to keep pressure on prices.
Brent crude was 6 cents lower at $110.75 by 1012 GMT. US light crude was 16 cents higher at $101.44.
EU officials are reported to be working on a last-minute proposal to raise the combined lending limit of the EFSF rescue fund and the permanent structure that will replace it, the ESM.
The latter fund was due to be launched in 2013 but efforts are said to underway to bring that forward by a year.
"The market is in expectation mode, and we have yet another make or break summit, with people thinking that they wouldn't dare walk away without something," said David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global.
But he said that there was scope for a retreat in all risky assets after the summit.
"The great danger is that people look at what's said and see there's nothing concrete, sensible or useful so we are setting ourselves up for a disappointment."
SAUDI OUTPUT
Oil traders were looking closely at the latest pronouncements from OPEC members ahead of a meeting of the cartel of oil exporting nations next week.
Saudi Arabia produced 10.047 million barrels per day of crude oil excluding condensate in November, a senior Saudi oil official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The top oil exporter produced 10 million barrels per day of oil in November, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.
The country produced 9.45 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in November versus 9.40 million bpd in October, according to a Reuters survey. OPEC/O
Rising oil production from Saudi Arabia is seen as reassuring investors who are worried that Iranian supply into Europe may be disrupted by sanctions from the European Union.
OPEC is due to meet on Dec. 14 in Vienna to set output targets for early 2012.
Group members, at odds over supply policy since June, looked set to agree on a new production target that legitimises current cartel output at around 30 million barrels a day.
The International Energy Agency's executive director, Maria van der Hoeven, said on Wednesday recent oil output levels by OPEC producers are appropriate for the oil market throughout 2012.
A sharper-than-expected fall in US crude stocks announced on Tuesday failed to significantly boost oil prices, as the bullish data was offset by larger-than-projected builds in gasoline and distillate inventories, industry data showed on Tuesday.
A clearer picture of US stocks will emerge when the US Energy Information Administration announces its weekly report later on Wednesday.
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