Crude oil futures rose in early Asian trade on Thursday, shrugging off a surprise build in US inventories as some Chinese traders returned following a weeklong National Day holiday period.US crude stocks rose by 3.1 million barrels to 461 million last week as refineries reduced production and idled capacity. Analysts had expected an increase of 2.2 million barrels.

Both major oil benchmarks rose more than 1% on Thursday although trading was thin in the early part of the Asian session. With China open for business trading is likely to more volatile in commodities, ANZ said in a morning note.

US crude was up 50 cents, or 1.05%, at $48.31 early on Thursday. The contract fell 1.5% on Wednesday after three days of gains.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 53 cents, or 1.03%, at $51.86 a barrel, after falling 1.1% on Wednesday.

With little data out this week, apart from industry and government inventory numbers, and China on holiday for the first three days, the market has focussed on longer-term demand trends that have supported prices.

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