Singapore — Oil prices edged up early on Thursday, clawing back some ground after losses in the previous session. Traders said the market was range-bound as falling crude inventories provided price support while high output was capping gains. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $50.43 a barrel at 1.01am GMT, up 16c, or 0.3%, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $46.88 a barrel, up 10c, or 0.2%. The slight gains followed a more than 1% fall in the previous session. Data published late on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that commercial US crude oil stocks have fallen by almost 13% from their peaks in March to 466.5-million barrels, well below this time last year. "If inventory declines continue at this pace, stocks will fall back below the five-year average in around two months," said William O’Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia’s Rivkin Securities. "The pace of the dec...
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