Oil prices little changed as ceasefire holds and US crude stocks fall

By Helen Clark

MELBOURNE, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil was little changed at open on Wednesday morning after a volatile session on Tuesday with U.S. crude oil inventories falling for a third week in a row as the shaky Middle East ceasefire held.

U.S West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up 15 cents, or 0.15%, to $102.42 per barrel as of 2251 GMT.

WTI closed down 3.9% after the ceasefire held despite reported exchanges of fire, while Brent LCOc1 fell 4% to close at $109.87.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell for the third straight week, while gasoline and distillate stocks also declined, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Crude stocks fell by 8.1 million barrels in the week ended May 1, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels compared to a week earlier, the sources said.