* U.S. fuel inventories fall as demand rebounds - EIA
* EIA now sees 2020 U.S. production falling 1 mln bpd
* Oil demand this year to fall by 9.06 million bpd -OPEC
(Adds settlement prices, analyst quote)
By Jessica Resnick-Ault
NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Crude prices rose more than 2%
on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. oil inventories
fell across the board, bolstering hopes that fuel demand in the
world's biggest economy will withstand the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled up 93 cents, or 2.1%, at $45.43
a barrel. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 oil ended $1.06, or
2.6%, higher at $42.67 a barrel, having dropped 0.8% in the
previous session.
U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell
last week as refiners ramped up production and demand improved,
a government report showed. U.S. fuel demand rose to 19.37 million barrels per day last
week, the highest since March, data from the Energy Information
Administration showed.
"We're seeing the demand bounce back," said Phil Flynn,
senior energy analyst at Price Futures Group. "The market is
tightening a lot quicker than people thought."
Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 4.5 million barrels,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.9
million-barrel drop. Crude output dropped to 10.7 million bpd
from 11 million bpd in the week, according to the report.
"The most surprising statistic was the decline in oil
production by 300,000 barrels per day at the same time that
we've been hearing producers talking about restoring
production," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil
Associates in Houston. "That's going to give more support to
crude oil prices for the balance of the year."
The EIA's downward revision on Tuesday to a key U.S. oil
production forecast for this year also lent support to prices.
U.S. crude production is forecast to fall 990,000 bpd this
year to 11.26 million bpd, steeper than the 600,000 bpd decline
it forecast last month. World oil demand will fall by 9.06 million bpd this year,
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a
monthly report on Wednesday, more than the 8.95 million bpd
decline expected a month ago. Still, growing uncertainty over a stalemate in Washington in
talks for a stimulus package to support recovery from the
deepest impact of the pandemic may weigh on prices. In India, refined fuels consumption fell to 15.68 million
tonnes in July, down 11.7% year-on-year and 3.5% below June's
levels, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
(PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas showed.