US crude stocks fall more than expected, Brent holds at $52.49

Inventories of US crude fell for the sixth consecutive week, while stocks of gasoline climbed the most since January to register their first rise in eight weeks.

Ahead of the release, West Texas Intermediate, the US crude marker, rose 0.6 per cent to $49.49 a barrel, while its international counterpart, Brent, was up 0.7 per cent to $52.49 a barrel.

Inventories of crude fell by 6.45m barrels in the week ended August 4, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with expectations for a draw of 2.37m barrels.

That marked the longest week of back-to-back declines since May. Meanwhile, stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, a key delivery hub increased by 569,000 barrels.

That came as US crude oil imports averaged about 7.8m barrels per day last week, down by 491,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

Stockpiles of gasoline, one of the products that crude is refined into, unexpectedly rose by 3.42m barrels, compared with expectations for a decline of 1.56m barrels.