Crude oil prices eased slightly on Thursday but held most of their gains from the previous session after US government data showed a fall in inventories, supporting the view that fuel demand is returning despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude was down 8 cents at $45.35 a barrel by 0150 GMT, after a gain of around 2% in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate oil was down by 6 cents at $42.61 a barrel after gaining 2.6% on Wednesday.
US crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week as refiners ramped up production and demand improved, a government report showed.
