Oil up over $50, U.S. inventory drop balances OPEC doubts

By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged above $50 a barrel on Thursday as a further drop in U.S. crude inventories countered investor doubts that OPEC will be able to implement a production cut. Crude inventories posted an unexpected drop of 553,000 barrels last week, and stocks of gasoline and distillates fell more than expected, raising hopes that a long-awaited market rebalancing is finally under way. Whilst such reduction is largely in the hand of OPEC, the re-balancing is already taking