Oil Prices Rise as Potential Supply Cuts Remain in Focus

Oil prices rose on Thursday, with Brent topping $50 a barrel for the first time in six weeks, as traders continued to talk up the potential for an output cut agreement at a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers next month.

    Brent crude oil futures were trading at $49.93 per barrel at 0750 GMT, up 8 cents, after earlier rising as high as $50.05 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $47.10 a barrel, up 31 cents. 

    The strength of WTI on Thursday was also a result of a flood of new orders to ship US crude to Europe to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities resulting from a wide spread between the US and European benchmarks.

    The unexpected fall in US crude inventories last week has already helped to support prices, with gasoline stocks also decreasing more than expected, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.