UPDATE 8-Oil climbs nearly 5% on signs of increasing crude demand

* U.S. crude stockpiles fall as refiners ramp up output -EIA
* IEA ups oil demand forecast as vaccinations brighten
outlook
* Slow vaccine rollouts globally still loom

(Updates with settlement prices)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices surged almost 5%
on Wednesday, after a report from the International Energy
Agency, followed by U.S. inventory data boosted optimism about
returning demand after the coronavirus lockdowns last year
crushed fuel consumption.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose $2.91, or 4.6%, to settle
at $66.58 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 ended $2.97, or 4.9%, higher at $63.15 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 5.9 million
barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said,
exceeding analysts' forecasts for a 2.9 million-barrel drop.
East Coast crude stocks hit a record low. EIA/S
Gasoline supplied in latest week, indicating the U.S.
consumption of the fuel, rose to 8.9 million barrels per day,
the highest since August, the EIA report showed.
Gasoline stocks edged higher by 309,000 barrels, less than
expectations for a 786,000-barrel rise. Distillate stockpiles
USOILD=ECI fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week, versus
expectations for a 971,000-barrel rise.
"All in all, it was a very supportive report," said Phil
Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "It
really looks like we're getting a return to some more solid
demand numbers and that should keep us going."
Earlier in the session, oil prices rose on a report from the
International Energy Agency that predicted global oil demand and
supply were set to rebalance in the second half of the year. It
added that producers may then need to pump an additional 2
million bpd to meet the expected demand. "That IEA report is one of the best ones we've seen them
publish in awhile in terms of being optimistic about the
continued rebound in demand," said John Kilduff, partner at
Again Capital in New York.
Similarly, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries on Tuesday raised its global demand forecast by 70,000
bpd from last month's forecast and now expects global demand to
rise by 5.95 million bpd in 2021. Signs of a strong economic recovery in China and the United
States have underpinned recent price gains, but stalled vaccine
rollouts worldwide and soaring COVID-19 cases in India and
Brazil have slowed the market's advance.