US futures rose 46 cents to US$50.29 a barrel, having broken above US$50 for the first time since June this year. A number of OPEC oil ministers plus Russia's energy minister set to attend an energy conference in Istanbul are expected to meet together informally although they are unlikely to make any new decisions, OPEC sources said. Both contracts hit their highest in nearly four months on Wednesday after US data showed crude oil stockpiles fell 3 million barrels last week to 499.74 million barrels, confounding expectations for an increase. Barring any unforeseen output disruptions, analysts did not expect prices to shoot up much further as production remains high even with an OPEC cut. "Resilient production in the US and Russia will postpone crude market rebalancing and keep the market in surplus into 2017," BMI Research said.

Source: The Edge Markets October 06, 2016 14:37 UTC