Shafaq news/ Oil prices eased on Thursday after OPEC and allies such as Russia agreed to taper record supply curbs from August, though the drop was cushioned by hopes for a swift US demand pick-up after a big drawdown from the country's crude stocks.

Brent crude fell 33 cents, or 0.8%, to $43.46 a barrel by 0646 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 42 cents, or 1.0%, to $40.78 a barrel. Prices rose 2% the previous day, helped by the US crude inventories drop.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Wednesday to scale back oil production cuts from August as the global economy slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

OPEC+ has been cutting output since May by 9.7 million barrels per day, or 10% of global supply, but from August, cuts will officially taper to 7.7 million bpd until December.

"Some investors took profits after the OPEC+ decision, but a big draw in US crude provided some support," Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Co said.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed US crude inventories fell 7.5 million barrels last week, shrinking much more than the 2.1 million-barrel drop expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday that global oil markets are slowly rebalancing after the shocks seen during the coronavirus lockdown, with prices expected at about $40 per barrel in the coming months.