Brent, WTI dip after 3 gain in previous session
U.S. crude stocks rise by 7.8 mln barrels after fall expected
Market looks ahead to Wednesday U.S. Fed meeting analysts

LONDON, Dec 14 Reuters Oil prices were broadly stable on Wednesday as bearish signals from data indicating a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories met forecasts of oil demand rebounding over 2023 from OPEC and the International Energy Agency IEA.

Brent crude futures dropped 17 cents, or 0.2, to 80.51 per barrel by 0926 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude futures fell 3 cents to 75.36.

U.S. crude inventories rose 7.8 million barrels in the week to Dec. 9, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 3.6 million barrel drop.

Government data is due at 1530 GMT.

The inventory data dampened the previous session39;s bullish sentiment based on hopes for a revival in Chinese demand with the easing of COVID19 restrictions and for a weakening dollar after data showed U.S. inflation subsiding.

Road and air traffic in China has rebounded sharply, data suggests.

But PVM analyst Stephen Brennock cautioned that while Beijings recent decision to loosen the strict COVID19 policies is a positive step it is only expected to pave the way for an uptick in Chinas oil demand from 2Q23 onwards.

Looking into 2023, OPEC said it is expecting oil demand to grow 2.25 million barrels per day bpd over next year to 101.8 million…