Investing.com - Oil prices pushed lower in European trade on Thursday, as investors locked in gains from the biggest one-day advance in more than two months.
Crude oil for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 45 cents, or 0.9%, to trade at $49.43 a barrel by 07:48GMT, or 3:48AM ET.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil rallied $2.03, or 4.24%, the strongest daily advance since April, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. fell more than expected last week, while domestic crude output continued its decline.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories fell by 4.1 million barrels last week to 526.6 million. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock decline of 2.4 million barrels.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude production stood at 8.62 million barrels per day as of last week, down from a peak of over 9.6 million bpd last year.
Oil received a further boost as worries about the U.K.’s shock decision to leave the European Union abated, boosting appetite for riskier assets.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery dipped 44 cents, or 0.86%, to trade at $50.88 a barrel, after surging $2.06, or 4.18%, on Wednesday.
Fears of sharp production cuts from a looming strike by Norway's oil sector eased as output from the North Sea's biggest producer would only fall by about 7% in case of a walk-out, according to Norway's Petroleum Directorate.
About 7,500 workers on seven oil and gas fields in Norway could go on strike from Saturday if a new wage deal is not agreed before a Friday deadline.