Brent crude oil futures rose 71 cents, or 0.95%, to close at $75.63 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 67 cents, or 0.93%, to settle at $72.36.
Donald Trump’s election win initially triggered a sell-off that pushed oil down more than $2 as the dollar rallied. But crude prices later pared losses to settle at a less than 1% decline by the end of Wednesday’s session.
The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Thursday to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%, after slashing rated by a half point in September.
Downside factors for oil include a strong dollar and sluggish demand, while upside pressures come from potentially increased sanctions on Iran and Venezuela under Trump, as well as conflict in the Middle East, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
“Some of these potential drivers will have no impact in the foreseeable future, but they all add up to the current narrative leading to rangebound trading,” he said.
“Absent any major geopolitical escalation, the short-term outlook leans toward downside risk in my opinion.”