Oil prices turned positive after earlier falling to a two-month low on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed a ninth consecutive decline in crude stockpiles.
Brent crude was up 65 cents at $47.31 U.S. a barrel by early afternoon.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 40 cents at $45.05 U.S. a barrel, having earlier fallen to $43.69, its lowest intraday level since mid-May.
The report matched an earlier assessment from industry group the American Petroleum Institute. The Energy Information Administration and API data were just above a forecast for a draw of 2.1 million barrels in a poll of economists.
The inventory report also showed a surprise increase in gasoline stocks, which rose by 911,000 barrels, compared with forecasts for stocks to remain unchanged.
That rise came in spite of gasoline output slipping 168,000 barrels per day and refinery crude runs rising 319,000 bpd. EIA datas showed utilization rates edged up 0.9 percentage points to 93.2% of total capacity.
