TOKYO, July 20 ― Oil futures rose in early Asian trading today after an industry group released weekly figures showing US stockpiles fell more than expected last week.

Brent crude was up 13 cents at US$46.79 (RM188.21) a barrel at 0017 GMT. Yesterday, the contract settled down 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, at US$46.66 barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 7 cents to US$44.72 a barrel. It fell 59 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at US$44.65 in the previous session.

US crude stockpiles fell by 2.3 million barrels last week, trade group American Petroleum Institute (API) reported. That was just above a 2.1 million-barrels draw forecast in a Reuters poll.

For distillate inventories including diesel, API reported a surprise draw of 484,000 barrels. It also said there was an unexpected gasoline build of 805,000 barrels.

The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) will issue inventory data later today.

If the EIA confirms a drawdown, it will be the ninth straight week that US crude stockpiles have fallen. ― Reuters