Investing.com - Oil prices fell on Thursday as traders locked in profits following a rally in the previous session when the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an unexpectedly large U.S. oil inventory drawdown last week.
U.S. crude oil was down 42 cents or 0.81% at $51.41 a barrel at 08.19 GMT.
Global benchmark Brent futures were at $52.28 as barrel, down 41 cents or 0.78%.
Oil prices rallied on Wednesday, with U.S. crude settling at a 15-month high after the EIA said U.S. oil inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels last week.
That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 2.7 million barrels.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories rose by 0.437 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.
Oil losses looked likely to remain limited amid optimism over 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.