* US crude stocks fall 2.4 mln bbls last week - API
* Analysts expect 1.5 mln bbls drawdown on US crude
inventories
* Coming up: EIA weekly oil inventories by 10:30 a.m. EDT
By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Benchmark Brent crude oil
prices inched up just above a key support level of $50 on
Wednesday, recovering from multi-month lows, as investors await
U.S. oil inventories data to gauge supply.
Oil markets paused for a breather after prices tumbled about
20 percent in July because of a supply glut.
OPEC continued to pump at record rates in July and U.S.
shale oil production showed no sign of abating as drillers added
more rigs in past two weeks.
A landmark nuclear deal struck between Tehran and world
powers has sparked concerns of more Iranian oil returning to
global markets and worries about fuel demand growth has also
dragged down oil prices.
"The market is still digesting news of Iran coming back with
more supply," Ben Le Brun, a markets analyst at OptionsXpress in
Sydney said.
"There is uncertainty in terms of demand growth being able
to pick up the slack caused by a supply glut."
September Brent crude LCOc1 rose 20 cents to $50.19 a
barrel by 0147 GMT after gaining 1 percent in the previous
session, up from a six-month low on Monday.
U.S. crude for September delivery CLc1 gained 20 cents to
$45.94 a barrel, recovering from a four-month low touched on
Monday.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels last week
week to 459.7 million, the American Petroleum Institute said
late on Tuesday, compared with analysts' expectations for a
decrease of 1.5 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing,
Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 504,000 barrels, API said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will
publish its figures on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
A stronger dollar may limit gains in oil prices as it deters
holders of other currencies to buy the dollar-denominated
commodity. The greenback strengthened against the yen and euro
early on Wednesday after Atlanta Federal Reserve President
Dennis Lockhart expressed his support for an interest rate hike
in September.
On technical charts, Brent may test resistance at $51.03 per
barrel, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next
resistance at $52.30, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) may break resistance at $46.03
per barrel and rise further towards $47.41, he said.