Investing.com - Crude oil prices eased in Asia on Thursday with investors taking profits following drops in U.S. inventories with the focus now on end of the week U.S. rig count data.
U.S. crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.17% to $51.73 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent futures on the Intercontinental Exchange eased 0.08% to $52.63 a barrel.
Overnight, oil prices rallied on Wednesday, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an unexpectedly large U.S. oil inventory drawdown last week.
Crude oil inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 2.7 million barrels after a build of 4.9 million barrels in the previous week.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 468.7 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories rose by 2.469 million barrels, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.31 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.24 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decrease of 1.55 million.
The report came after industry group the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks fell by a surprise 3.8 million barrels last week. The draw defied expectations for a build of 2.7 million barrels.
Meanwhile, traders continued to ponder a planned output cut by major producers.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced late last month that it has a preliminary plan to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day.
OPEC is expected to complete details of the proposed production cut at its next official meeting on November 30. But many market analysts remain skeptical of the deal, amid uncertainty over how the agreement would be implemented.
Oil prices had been boosted earlier in the day by the slightly weaker dollar. Oil is priced in U.S. dollars and becomes cheaper to holders of other currencies when the dollar weakens, underpinning demand.