UPDATE 9-Oil little changed as U.S. crude stockdraw countered by demand fears

* U.S. crude inventories drop more than expected last week
-EIA
* China, U.S. agree to resume trade talks in October
* OPEC-led supply cuts support, but output rises in August

(Updates to settlement)
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed
on Thursday as support from a sharp drawdown in U.S. crude
inventories was countered by fears of slowing global demand
growth amid doubts over resolving the U.S.-China trade feud.
Global benchmark Brent crude settled at $60.95 a barrel,
rising 25 cents, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
rose 4 cents to end at $56.30.
U.S. crude and product inventories fell last week, with
crude drawing down for a third consecutive week despite a jump
in imports, the Energy Information Administration said. EIA/S
Crude stocks dropped 4.8 million barrels, nearly double
analysts' expectations, to 423 million barrels, their lowest
since October 2018.
"It's definitely a bullish report all around," said Bob
Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.
Oil soared more than 2% after the EIA report, but prices
gradually pared those gains as scepticism crept back over the
prospect of a nearing trade deal between the world's two top
economies despite another round of talks being scheduled for
next month.
"I think the market across the board has built in as much
hopefulness as they can about the U.S.-China trade war," said
John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York.
China and the United States on Thursday agreed to hold
high-level talks in early October in Washington. "Even with the announcement that they're going to restart
trade talks, there's still uncertainty regarding that issue and
fears of slowing demand growth, which is basically keeping the
market from pushing higher," said Gene McGillian, vice president
of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
The prolonged trade dispute has been a dampener on oil
prices, but Brent is still up about 12% this year, helped by
production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia.
Nonetheless, both OPEC and Russia boosted production in
August, according to a Reuters survey and Russian energy
ministry figures.
Also putting downward pressure on prices has been mounting
evidence of slowing economic growth worldwide, which has
prompted analysts to lower forecasts for oil demand growth.
BP BP.L Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told Reuters
on Wednesday that global oil demand was expected to grow by less
than 1 million barrels per day in 2019, a slowdown from previous
years.