Oil prices fall early Thursday on surprise build in US stocks(Update)

International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $45.92 per barrel at 0119 GMT, up 34 cents, or 0.75 percent, from their previous close.

Singapore: U.S. oil prices fell on Thursday following a surprise build in the country's crude stocks shown in data published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Wednesday.

U.S. benchmark West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 39 cents or 0.72 percent to $53.67 at 0033 GMT after settling up 16 cents at $54.06 per barrel in the previous session.

Brent crude oil futures had yet to trade after settling 13 cents higher at $56.22 in the previous session. Trade remains thin as most investors are away for year-end holidays, traders said.

The 4.2 million barrel build in U.S. crude oil stocks shown in the API data came as a surprise. Analysts polled ahead of the weekly inventory reports had forecast, on average, that crude stocks would decline 2.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 23.

Instead, crude stocks rose last week as refiners cut output, amid a drawdown in gasoline and distillate inventories. Refinery crude runs fell by 604,000 barrels per day, API data showed.

In a potential sign that an output production cut is likely to be adhered to, the committee of OPEC and non-OPEC producers responsible for monitoring compliance with the production cut agreement will meet in Vienna on Jan. 21-22, Kuwaiti oil minister Essam Al-Marzouq told state news agency KUNA. - Reuters

Earlier report:

Oil holds near annual peaks, awaiting OPEC cuts, supply data

NEW YORK: Crude oil prices edged up for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, close to their highest levels since mid-2015, ahead of U.S. oil inventory figures and as the market awaits evidence of OPEC supply reductions in the new year.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $54.20 per barrel by 1:29 p.m. EST (1829 GMT), not far from the year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12.

Brent crude futures were up 30 cents at $56.39 a barrel. The international benchmark hit $57.89 on Dec. 12, its highest since July 2015.

Oil prices have gained 25 percent since mid-November, helped by expectations for OPEC's supply cut and solid U.S. economic figures that have also bolstered equity prices.

Trading was thin, with just 238,000 front-month futures contracts changing hands in WTI by 1:29 p.m. EST, compared with a daily average of 525,000 over the last 200 days. It is expected to remain quiet for the balance of the week.

Five analysts polled ahead of weekly inventory reports from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated, on average, that crude stocks declined by 1.5 million barrels in the week to Dec. 23.

The API data will be released on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT), while the EIA report has been rescheduled to Thursday at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT), following the federal holiday on Monday because of the Christmas holiday.

The market is taking a wait-and-see approach to the official start of the landmark deal reached by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and several non-OPEC members to reduce their output. The deal is set to kick in from Jan. 1.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers are expected to lower production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), with Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, agreeing to bear the lion's share of the cuts.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said on Wednesday his country, which has seen fast production growth in the past two years, would cut supply by 200,000-210,000 bpd from January.

Luaibi said on a visit to fellow OPEC member Kuwait that he saw oil prices rising to $60 per barrel as the cuts would help ease the global glut of the past three years, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh also said on Tuesday he expected OPEC to abide by the deal. "While competing, we do have engagement," Iranian news agency Shana quoted him as saying.

OPEC member Venezuela also said it will cut 95,000 bpd of oil production in the new year.

Statements from various officials "holds market expectations at a high level, but also entails some risk of disappointment if actual January production data shows output only ramping gradually toward the lower target levels," wrote Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures.- Reuters