Oil edges lower after jump on U.S. stocks draw

TOKYO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices eased slightly on
Thursday but held most of their gains from the previous session
after U.S. government data showed a fall in inventories,
supporting the view that fuel demand is returning despite the
coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 8 cents at $45.35 a barrel by
0150 GMT, after a gain of around 2% in the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate CLc1 oil was down by 6 cents at $42.61
a barrel after gaining 2.6% on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell
last week as refiners ramped up production and demand improved,
a government report showed. EIA/S
U.S. fuel demand rose to 19.37 million barrels per day last
week, the highest since March, data from the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed, while crude output fell to 10.7
million barrels per day (bpd) from 11 million bpd.
"The fourth quarter could see much higher oil prices if the
energy market starts to brace for a shortage of oil," said
Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 4.5 million barrels,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.9
million-barrel drop.
The EIA's downward revision on Tuesday to a key U.S. oil
production forecast for this year also supported prices. U.S.
crude production is forecast to fall by 990,000 bpd this year to
11.26 million bpd, steeper than the 600,000 bpd decline it
forecast last month.
Capping gains, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries said in a monthly report that world oil demand will
fall by 9.06 million bpd this year, more than the 8.95 million
bpd decline expected a month ago.
Increasing uncertainty over a stalemate in Washington on a
stimulus package to support recovery from the deepest impact of
the coronavirus pandemic may also weigh on prices, analysts
said.