Oil edged down towards $79 a barrel today, giving up some of the previous day's 1.1 per cent gain on weaker Asian equities and a steady dollar, but losses were limited after industry data showed a surprise large drawdown in US crude inventories.
Crude for December delivery fell 12 cents to $79.43 a barrel earlier, after settling up 87 cents yesterday, its first rise in four days. London Brent crude was down 17 cents at $77.75.
The American Petroleum Institute data showed after the contract's settlement yesterday that US crude stocks fell by 3.5 million barrels last week, compared with a forecast for a 1.8 million barrel build.
The data showed, however, that US petrol and distillate supplies fell less than expected.
The API report is regarded as a precursor to more authoritative numbers issued by the US Energy Information Administration later today.
While the price of crude is up about 78 per cent this year, it is still around 46 per cent below a high of more than $147 a barrel reached in July last year.
Oil prices rallied from below $70 a barrel on October 7th to a one-year high of $82 last Wednesday, coinciding with higher global stock indices and a weaker dollar.
Reuters