NNA - Oil prices rose for a third day on Wednesday after industry data showing U.S. crude inventories grew less than expected and a cut in the forecast for output growth in the U.S., the world's biggest producer, eased concerns about potential oversupply.

Brent crude futures were up 10 cents to $78.69 a barrel as of 0728 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 13 cents to $73.44.

American Petroleum Institute figures showed U.S. crude stocks rose 670,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 2, well below forecasts for a 1.9 million barrel build from analysts polled by Reuters.

U.S. government weekly data on oil inventories will be released later on Wednesday. [EIA/S]

For 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday cut its outlook for domestic oil output growth by 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 170,000 bpd, sharply lower than last year's output increase of 1.02 million bpd.

The EIA also forecast U.S. production would not exceed the December 2023 record of more than 13.3 million bpd until February 2025.--Reuters 

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