Oil eased below $63 on Wednesday ahead of U.S. data expected to show crude inventories in the world's biggest consumer remain very high, although a cold snap has slightly reduced stocks of heating fuel.
U.S. crude
Analysts expect U.S. government data to be published 1530 GMT will show a 500,000-barrel decline in distillate stocks, which include heating oil.
But crude stocks were predicted to rise by 200,000 barrels, keeping them near their highest level for the time of year since 1991.
A major snow-storm increased demand for heating oil in the United States, but weather forecasters have predicted a return to mild temperatures this weekend and that they could last for two weeks.
Many analysts and traders say prices could struggle to sustain the gains that last week pulled the market out of a two-month trading range of roughly $56-$62 a barrel, although the prospect of a further output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is providing some support.
OPEC agreed in October to reduce supplies by 1.2 million barrels per day November 1 and most OPEC ministers have said they see the need for another cut when they meet in Abuja on December 14.
"There has been a temporary rebound on a combination of OPEC's intervention in the market and a seasonal increase in demand," said Eoin O'Callghan of BNP Paribas.
But he said high inventory levels and the threat of economic weakness in the United States were among the factors that could erode gains.
