Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Friday shrugging off a second consecutive week of U.S. crude oil inventory builds, with a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report late on Thursday indicating an unexpected rise in crude stocks.

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U.S. benchmark West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 18 cents or 0.33 percent to $53.95 at 0105 GMT after settling 29 cents lower at $53.77 per barrel in the previous session.

Brent front-month March crude oil futures were 12 cents a barrel or 0.21 percent higher at $56.97.

Crude inventories were up 614,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 23, the EIA data showed, compared with analysts` expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrel.

Despite the unexpected rise in crude stocks, the EIA data published on Thursday showed a significantly smaller rise in crude stocks compared with Wednesday`s American Petroleum Institute (API) data that indicated a 4.2 million barrel build in U.S. crude oil stocks in the same period. []

"Today`s Department of Energy report was positive for light products due to draws in gasoline and distillate inventories compared to consensus` build expectations," British bank Barclays said in a note.

Gasoline stocks fell 1.6 million barrels, compared with analysts` expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel rise.

The market is likely to have focussed on the surprise draw in product stocks and taken on a slightly more bullish view towards the WTI contract, traders said.

Oil prices will gradually rise towards $60 per barrel by the end of 2017, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, with further upside capped by a strong dollar, a likely recovery in U.S. oil output and possible non-compliance by OPEC with agreed cuts.