LONDON: Oil prices pared gains reached earlier in the session on Thursday, despite US industry data showing a big drop in crude stocks last week, as the market remains suspicious whether OPEC cuts will be enough to rebalance an oversupplied market.
Brent crude oil was up 11 cents at $50.87 a barrel by 1134 GMT, while US light crude had gained 24 cents to $48.56. The two contracts hit session highs of $51.44 and $49.07, respectively.
The contracts fell about 3 percent to three-week lows on Wednesday after news that an increase in Libyan oil production had helped to boost OPEC crude output in May, the first monthly rise this year.
"Sentiment is very poor and yesterday's survey from Reuters regarding OPEC production in May added to the scepticism about OPEC's capability to rebalance the market as quickly as hoped for," Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
Industry data on US oil inventories from the American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Wednesday was seen buoying prices.
API figures showed that US crude inventories fell by 8.7 million barrels to 513.2 million in the week to May 26, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of only 2.5 million barrels.
"This was well ahead of forecasts," said Stephen Brennock, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. "(It) is helping the oil market regain some ground this morning."
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports its official figures for US stockpiles at 1500 GMT on Thursday.
The US inventories data provided some relief after a week of negative news on the global supply-demand balance.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia are trying to restrict output to drain stockpiles that are close to record highs in many parts of the world.
But US crude production is rising fast as new technology helps to extract shale oil, making the United States more self-sufficient in energy.
President Donald Trump has vowed to provide extra support for US oil production and is widely expected to pull the United States out of a landmark global climate accord.
Phillip Futures' investment analyst Jonathan Chanes said a US withdrawal would signal Trump's intention to further roll back emission regulations.
"That would favour the use and demand of fossil fuels," Chanes said.
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