Oil Futures Settle Higher After Earlier Dip Below $44

Oil futures staged an intraday U-turn on Wednesday to settle higher after earlier dip below $44 a barrel. Analysts attributed the turn higher to the market digging deeper into the details of the latest U.S. supply data as well as to technical trading. Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, pointed out increasing tensions linked to Artic oil supplies. Gains for oil prices also intensified after the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. October oil settled at $46.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 84 cents, or 1.9%.