Oil prices steady as Brent crude holds at $98 per barrel

Oil prices remained stable at the start of Asian trading today, following gains in the previous session and a sharp monthly increase.

Brent crude futures rose by 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $98.15 per barrel.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $90.35 per barrel.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories increased from 922,000 barrels to 427.3 million barrels in the week ending September 25.