London — Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the global oil surplus was starting to shrink due to robust global demand and an output drop from oil cartel Opec and other producers. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 11c, or 0.2%, at $48.34 a barrel at 9.44am GMT after dropping earlier in the day. International benchmark Brent crude was up 13c, or 0.2%, at $54.40 a barrel. "Based on recent bets made by investors, expectations are that markets are tightening and prices will rise, albeit very modestly," the IEA, which co-ordinates energy policies in industrialised nations, said in its monthly report. "Demand growth continues to be stronger than expected, particularly in Europe and the US", raising its 2017 global oil demand growth estimate to 1.6-million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.5-million bpd. The assessment echoed a publication by Opec, which, on Tuesday, forecast higher demand for its oil in 2018 and pointed to signs of a tig...
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