New York — Oil prices rose to near eight-week highs on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures at over $50 a barrel, as a fall in US inventories bolstered expectations that the long-oversupplied market was moving toward balance. Brent crude futures were up 67c to $50.87 a barrel by 2.39pm GMT. Prices surpassed levels seen Tuesday when Brent futures strengthened more than 3%. US West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 83c to $48.72 a barrel. US crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output and imports dropped, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell 7.2-million barrels in the week ending July 21, more than the expected decrease of 2.6-million barrels. The decline was the fourth consecutive drop, giving support to the market. This added to hopes a long-awaited rebalancing was underway in the oil market. Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would limit oil exports to 6.6-million barr...
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