FILE PHOTO: A man pumps petrol for his car at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam December 20, 2016. Oil prices edged up on Thursday, on track for a weekly gain of 3 percent, after recovering from losses triggered by record high U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures were up by 6 cents on the day at $54.42 a barrel by 0852 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 1 cent at $51.16 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase of 1.57 million barrels in crude inventories late on Wednesday, bringing total U.S. stocks to a record high of 535.5 million barrels. “Overnight crude inventory numbers pulled the rug out from under the feet of the oil rally,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. The record crude inventories came as U.S. oil production rose by 52,000 barrels per […]