Oil rises above $ 52 ahead of US inventory report

Oil prices surged more than $ 52 a barrel on Wednesday ahead of the release of a weekly report on US oil inventories, which is expected to show a drop in inventories for the sixth week, but doubts about compliance with an OPEC-led cut agreement have limited gains.


US Petroleum Institute said late on Tuesday that crude inventories in the United States fell more-than-expected last week as imports declined and crude oil consumption in refineries rose, while gasoline inventories unexpectedly increased.


Crude stocks fell 7.8 million barrels last week to 478.4 million barrels, while analysts forecast a 2.7 million barrel decline.


The US Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly oil inventories report at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.


Brent crude rose 34 cents to $ 52.48 a barrel by 1159 GMT, after falling for two days. The WTI rose 30 cents to $ 49.47 a barrel.

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