LONDON: Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a larger than expected fall in US crude inventories and on attempts by OPEC to rebalance an oversupplied market by cutting output.
US crude oil inventories fell 5.8 million barrels last week, above analysts' expectations for a 1.8 million barrel decline, according to industry group the American Petroleum Institute.
Oil was also buoyed by a Reuters report on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would cut crude supplies to Asia.
Global benchmark Brent crude was up 40 cents at $49.13 a barrel by 0900 GMT. US light crude oil was 45 cents higher at $46.33 a barrel.
Despite the stronger trend, analysts said the market remained under pressure after a build in gasoline stocks in the US which partially offset the fall in crude inventories.
"As long as you've got those builds in gasoline, it is going to be difficult for crude oil to rally," said Olivier Jakob, energy market strategist at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
State-owned Saudi Aramco will reduce oil supplies to Asian customers by about 7 million barrels in June, a source told Reuters, as part of OPEC's agreement to reduce production.
Seven million barrels is roughly two days of oil imports into Japan, the world's fourth biggest importer. Aramco had previously maintained supplies to important Asian customers.
"The Saudis are largely (focused on) Asian customers, so if they are trimming sales that is supportive at the margins," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
Both Brent and US light crude futures contracts closed on Tuesday at their second lowest levels since Nov. 29, the day before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut production during the first half of 2017.
Prices surged immediately after the agreement in November, but have come under pressure in recent weeks as US production has ramped up and pushed back expectations for when the oil market will come into balance.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said on Monday he expected OPEC to agree to extend an agreement to limit oil production to the end of the year or possibly longer. OPEC meets later this month.
Official numbers on weekly US crude and oil product inventories from the US government's Department of Energy were scheduled for release at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.
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