Investing.com - Oil prices were higher on Wednesday after an American Petroleum Institute report showing falling stockpiles and rising refinery activity.
U.S. crude rose 1.46% to $41.27 a barrel, while Brent futures climbed 2% to $44.44 at 5.07 AM Eastern Time.
The API said Tuesday that U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week by 482,000 barrels, due in part to higher refinery runs.
Official inventory data was due later on Wednesday from the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration.
Most analysts still expect prices to remain at low levels for the rest of 2015 and into 2016 as production continues to outpace demand.