REUTERS
Oil extended gains after rebounding from a six-year low as the U.S. data showed crude stockpiles fell for a third week in the United States, the world's biggest consumer, Bloomberg reported.
Brent for September settlement, which expires Friday, rose 57 cents to $50.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It gained 48 cents to $49.66 on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added as much as 42 cents to $43.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $43.46 at 09:42 a.m. London time.
Prices have swung between gains and losses this week on mixed demand signals from China, while remaining almost 30% below their June closing peak amid a global glut, according to the report.
OPEC countries are negotiating the possibility of holding an emergency meeting in the sharp decline of oil prices as stated by Algerian Energy Minister Salah Khebri.
Crude inventories slid by 1.68 million barrels last week to 453.6 million, exceeding analysts' forecast, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. Oil output dropped by 70,000 barrels a day to 9.4 million a day, the report said.
"We are probably close to a bottom," Christin Tuxin, a senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said in a report. In the U.S., "supply growth could decline further out and help establish a floor in prices."