By Laila Kearney
March 29 (Reuters) - Oil steadied in early Asian trade
on Thursday as a surprise draw in U.S. crude oil stockpiles that
supported prices was offset by a smaller-than-expected cut to
Russian supplies and stronger dollar.
Brent crude futures were unchanged at $78.28 a
barrel at 0020 GMT. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $72.91 a barrel.
Helping to support prices, U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell
unexpectedly last week as refineries ramped up production after
maintenance season and imports fell to a two-year low, the U.S.
Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 7.5 million barrels
in the week to March 24 to 473.7 million barrels, compared with
analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 100,000-barrel
rise.
Meanwhile, reports about Russian crude production falling by
around 300,000 barrels a day in the first three weeks of March,
less than the targeted cuts of 500,000 bpd, and strength in the
U.S. dollar, erased oil price gains.
The dollar index , which generally trades inversely
with oil, was 0.18% higher on Wednesday at 102.67, pulling away
from the near seven-week low reached late last week.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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