Oil gains after boost by fall in US stockpiles

Oil prices rose on Wednesday in advance of a meeting of OPEC and its allies to discuss whether to extend production curbs to support the market and following industry data showing that US crude stockpiles fell more than expected.

Brent crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.5%, at $61.10 a barrel by 0151 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up by 27 cents, or 0.5%, at $56.37.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies that include Russia - a group known as OPEC+ - are preparing to approve deeper crude output cuts this week, when they meet in Vienna, according to Iraq, the group's second-biggest producer.

Thamer Ghadhban, the oil minister of Iraq, told reporters on Tuesday in Vienna that "a deeper cut is being preferred by a number of key members".

There is still some scepticism in the market over whether OPEC will cut output further, however, with many analysts expecting only an extension of existing cuts.

"We ... think OPEC could announce an extension to supply cuts to cover the whole of 2020 rather than the three to six months the market is currently factoring in," BNP Paribas Markets said in a note.

An extension "with an option to review policy at the next meeting, would send a strong message of commitment by signatories of the Declaration of Cooperation," the BNP Paribas analysts said.

OPEC members meet on Thursday and then on Friday the OPEC+ group meets. OPEC+ has been curbing supply since 2017.

On the supply side, crude inventories in the U.S. fell by more than expected last week, according to the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API). Stockpiles of crude oil fell by 3.7 million barrels, more than double expectations of a decline of 1.7 million barrels.

Gasoline and distillate stocks increased, however, and the market will be looking for confirmation of the crude draw when official figures come out from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday.

Keeping a lid on prices are the dwindling prospects of a trade deal between the United States and China.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday an agreement between the two may have to be delayed until after the American presidential election in November 2020.