NEW YORK (Jan 26): Oil prices were up in early Asian trade on Thursday (Jan 26), as US crude stocks rose less than expected, while a weaker dollar made oil cheaper for non-American buyers.

Brent crude futures had risen 12 cents to US$86.24 per barrel by 0119 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 30 cents to US$80.45.

Crude inventories rose by 533,000 barrels to 448.5 million barrels in the week ended Jan 20, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. That was substantially short of forecasts for a rise of one million barrels.

Despite the smaller-than-expected crude build, crude stocks reached the highest level since June 2021, the EIA said.

Also helping to boost oil was the US dollar, which weakened against the euro on Wednesday, as investors largely paused any big bets ahead of next week's central bank meetings, including those of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

A factor that kept oil from moving higher was concern about a slowing global economy hampering fuel demand.

Global economic growth is forecast to barely move above 2% this year, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who said the greater risk is a further downgrade to their view. That was at odds with widespread optimism in markets since the beginning of the year.