Oil prices rose slightly in early trading on Thursday, recovering some of the losses incurred in the previous session, amid hopes that a potential US interest rate cut would boost economic activity and fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2 %, to $79.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 23 cents, or 0.3 %, to $77.21 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell more than 1 % on Wednesday after announcing an unexpected rise in US crude inventories. US Energy Information Administration data showed that US crude oil inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week ending August 9, compared to estimates of a 2.2 million barrel decline, rising for the first time since late June. Source: National Iraqi News Agency