Oil prices rose in early trading on Wednesday after a report that US fuel inventories may have fallen for a fifth straight week.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at US$49.14 per barrel at 04.30 GMT, up 45 cents, or 0.9 per cent, from their last settlement.
Traders said the higher prices were largely a result of a report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) early today UAE time showing that US crude inventories likely fell for a fifth straight week, declining by 7.6 million barrels.
The US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) will report official stockpile numbers later, although analysts polled by Reuters expect the EIA to report a stock build of 2.6 million barrels for the week ended September 30.
In international oil markets, benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $51.29 per barrel, up 42 cents, or 0.8 per cent.
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