Oil rose towards $56 a barrel on Thursday, supported by cold weather in top consuming regions and by Washington's decision to increase emergency fuel reserves.
US crude was up 31 cents at $55.68 a barrel by 1115 GMT, having gained 33 cents on Wednesday. London Brent crude was also up 31 cents to $55.74.
Technical strength helped the market recover lost ground after U.S. data on Wednesday showed a rise in crude oil.
'The technical picture is supportive. Prices collapsed and recovered twice -- it looks like there is now more upside than downside,' said Tony Nunan, manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.'s risk management unit. Expectations of continued cold weather in the US Northeast were also supporting prices. DTN Meteorlogix has forecast temperatures to average below normal in the next six to 10 days.
So far the cold weather has had a limited impact on oil inventories, but traders are awaiting figures later on Thursday that will show the level of US natural gas stocks.
A Reuters poll of analysts showed the market expects gas storage to have fallen last week by 176 billion cubic feet, compared with a draw of 76 bcf a year ago.
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