Oil rebounds from recent low levels

LONDON: Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much largerthan-expected fall in US crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply.

Benchmark Brent crude was up 35 cents at $50.81 a barrel at 1010GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their lowest since Nov. 30, when the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to cut oil supply.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $47.94 a barrel, up 28 cents. WTI had slid 2.4 per cent on Tuesday on concerns about falling Opec compliance with its productioncurbing deal.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) assessing closely watched US oil inventories showed late on Tuesday that crude stocks had fallen last week by 4.2 million barrels, nearly double the drop expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

“The API statistics are helping the market recover, but the underlying sentiment is still bearish,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

The US government releases official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday at 1430GMT.

The data will also provide an update on growth in US oil production, a key factor that has kept a lid on price gains driven by output cuts elsewhere.

“(US) production growth has slowed during the past couple of weeks. If continued today it may also add some glimmer of hope for the bulls, who increasingly have been losing patience,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.

Oil investors continue to eye producing countries’ compliance with their pledge made in late 2016 to cut production by around 1.8 million barrels per day ( bpd) by the middle of the year.

Russia, contributing the largest production cut outside Opec, said on Wednesday that as of May 1, it had curbed output by more than 300,000bpd since hitting peak production in October. Its largest oil producer, Rosneft, said it had contributed just over 70,000 bpd to Russia’s cuts.

This means Russia has achieved its reduction target a month ahead of schedule, just as latest Reuters survey of Opec production showed compliance had fallen slightly.