Investing.com - Oil prices were higher during North American hours on Thursday, with U.S. crude futures breaking above the $50-level for the first time since late June, underpinned by data showing that crude supplies in the U.S. fell for the fifth week in a row.
Crude oil for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped to an intraday peak of $50.27 a barrel, the most since June 24. It was last at $50.23 by 8:50AM ET (12:50GMT), up 40 cents, or 0.8%.
On Wednesday, New York-traded oil rallied $1.14, or 2.34%, after weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that crude oil inventories fell by 3.0 million barrels last week to 499.7 million, the lowest since January.
Elsewhere, Brent oil for December delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London tacked on 48 cents, or 0.93%, to $52.34 a barrel, a level not seen since June 9. The contract rose 99 cents, or 1.95%, in the prior session.
OPEC could cut production at its late November meeting in Vienna by another 1% more than the amount agreed in Algiers last month, if producers reckon it is needed, Algeria's Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa told local Ennahar TV.
He also told Ennahar that OPEC and non-OPEC members would hold an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement the Algiers deal, though he did not give details about who would attend.
The 14-member oil cartel reached an agreement to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, a reduction of 0.7%-to-2.2% from its current output of 33.2 million barrels.
However, market analysts remained skeptical of the deal, pondering how such a plan would be implemented.