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Oil prices rose on Wednesday after US inventory data showed a decline in fuel stockpiles and Opec ministers pledged to push ahead with output cuts agreed upon last month.
US crude was up 47 cents to US$59.40 a barrel. London Brent crude was up 76 cents at US$59.24.
Inventory data released by the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed inventories of distillates and petrol fell unexpectedly, while crude stocks rose less than anticipated.
Distillate stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels, much more than the 500,000-barrel draw expected. Petrol inventories, which had been expected to be unchanged, declined by 600,000 barrels. Crude stocks rose 400,000 barrels, below the forecast for a 700,000-barrel build.
"The bullish tone is diluted by the fact that, in the distillate breakdown, heating oil stocks actually rose by 300,000 (barrels)," BNP Paribas said in a note.
High inventory levels have worried members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. On Wednesday, Gulf members of the producer group, who met in Abu Dhabi, said they were fully committed to the cut of 1.2 million barrels per day agreed in Doha last month.
"All of Opec is committed (to the cuts)," United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said.
Several ministers, including Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, have said the market remains oversupplied and that further cuts could be agreed on at Opec's next meeting on Dec. 14.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday that Opec's cut have stabilized the oil price between US$55 and US$60.
High inventory levels, combined with skepticism about Opec's commitment to production cuts, have helped to pull prices down by around 25 per cent from the record high of US$78.40 for US crude hit in July.
But Goldman Sachs said inventories were progressively being eroded by stronger-than-expected demand.
"We continue to believe that the recent, lower oil price levels will prove short-lived, particularly as the lower prices have contributed to exceptionally strong demand growth in the US," the investment bank wrote in a report.
It maintained its price forecast of US$75.50 for US crude next year.
- REUTERS
