LONDON: Oil rose Wednesday, driven by hopes of an easing in the stubborn global supply glut, before a key update on stockpiles in top consumer the United States.
A softening of the US currency also helped bolster the commodity as the dollar-priced commodity becomes cheaper for holders of weaker units, spurring demand, analysts said.
In London afternoon deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November added 90 cents to stand at $52.82 a barrel.
New York's benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November won 72 cents to $49.25 a barrel compared with Tuesday's close.
The US government's Department of Energy (DoE) will later release its energy report on crude stockpiles for the week ending October 2.
Prices had fallen to six-year lows in August on concerns about growth in China, the world's biggest energy user, as well as high output in the United States and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but have since crept higher.
The recent rally began last week after data showed a drop in US drilling activity, raising hopes this would help ease the oversupply.
The DoE has forecast production to decline to an average of 8.9 million barrels per day next year from 9.2 million in 2015.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates this year because of the weak global economy also boosted oil prices, analysts said.
"We no longer look for lift-off until the first quarter of 2016. It may not come then either," DBS Bank said.
Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore, said an interest rate hike seemed less likely after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday downgraded its growth forecasts for the world economy.
The global economy will expand just 3.1 percent this year and 3.6 percent next year, the IMF predicted, revising downward its previous forecasts by 0.2 percentage points in both cases.
"It is no secret that the IMF wants the Fed to delay its planned rate hike until next year, and the economic undercurrents increasingly lean towards that direction," Aw said.
"Furthermore, the IMF sees risks for emerging economies."
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