By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Oil was up Wednesday morning in Asia after data showed a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude supplies and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) remained to be optimistic about the outlook for fuel demand.

inched up 0.09% to $68.61 by 13:09 AM ET (5:09 AM GMT) and edged up 0.18% to $65.40.

Tuesday’s U.S. showed a draw of 2.533 barrels for the week ending May 7. Forecasts prepared by Investing.com predicted a 2.250-million-barrel draw, while a 7.688-barrel draw was recorded during the previous week.

Investors now await , due later in the day.

The draw came before the closure of Colonial Pipeline’s networks after a cyberattack during the previous week. The operator is hoping to re-open a large part of the network by the end of the week.

On the demand side, continued to expect a strong fuel demand recovery in 2021 as China and the U.S. continue their economic recoveries from COVID-19.

“Crude oil gained as investors continue to bet on a bright outlook for demand. A weak dollar also lent support,” ANZ Research analysts said in a note.

The cartel maintained its forecast of an increase of 5.95 million barrels per day (bpd) but cut its demand expectations for the second quarter by 300,000 as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge in India, the third-largest oil importer globally.

“India is currently facing severe COVID-19-related challenges and will therefore face a negative impact on its recovery in the second quarter, but it is expected to continue improving its momentum again in the second half of 2021,” OPEC said in its monthly report.