Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday as concerns over rocky demand in Europe counterbalanced hopes of a recovery in US refinery activity as industry data showed US crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week. “Demand fears based on the stalled European vaccine roll out is containing an otherwise positive environment,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. Brent crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $68.32 a barrel by 0458 GMT, after initially gaining as much as 23 cents. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 4 cents to $64.84, after climbing as much as 28 cents in early trade. The benchmarks were choppy on Wednesday with both swinging between positive and negative territory during Asian trade. The market has been drifting lower over the past few days as more European countries pause COVID-19 inoculations due to concerns over possible serious side effects, which could slow a recovery in fuel demand. Trading in oil futures is now as heavy as it was in the first months of the COVID-19 crisis with oil bulls and bears rushing to hedge against jolts in prices.