Oil prices bounce back

Hong Kong
Oil prices bounced back in Asia Thursday as investors weighed a rise in US crude inventories and production against a forecast by OPEC´s chief of rising demand.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery climbed nine cents to $47.90 and Brent crude for November gained eight cents to $51.41 in afternoon trade.
Prices tumbled Wednesday after a US Department of Energy report showed commercial crude stockpiles rose more than expected in the week ending October 2, indicating softer demand in the world´s top oil consuming nation.
Stockpiles rose by 3.1 million barrels, more than the market estimate of 2.25 million barrels. That brought inventories to 461.0 million barrels, more than 27 percent higher than a year ago.
US production, which had fallen by 40,000 barrels per day in the previous week, unexpectedly surged by 76,000 barrels per day, dousing hopes of an easing in the global crude oversupply.