LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, supported by a draw in U.S. crude inventories and Britain’s approval of a second coronavirus vaccine but pressured by swelling year-over-year supply. Brent crude futures settled up 25 cents to $51.34 a barrel, off the session high of $51.56 and well lower than the $66 price that started the year. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 40 cents to trade at $48.40, substantially down from about $62 at the start of 2020. Both contracts slipped early the session as a bigger fiscal aid package in the United States looked increasingly unlikely, dampening hopes for a swifter recovery of oil demand that has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices rallied after an Energy Information Administration report showed crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels in the latest week to 493.5 million barrels. [EIA/S] But traders noted that U.S. crude inventories still were ending the year more than 10% higher than the last week of 2019. “We couldn’t even pull down storage levels with a 6.1 million inventory draw which is sad but a reality, and it took the wind out of the sails for a big rally” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. On the supply front, U.S. energy firms this week added 3 oil and natural gas rigs to the best quarter for boosting the rig count since the second quarter of 2017, according to data from Baker Hughes. A Jan. 4 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is set to boost output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January. Oil prices found some support on Wednesday from the U.S. dollar hitting its lowest against a basket of currencies since 2018, making oil cheaper for holders of other currencies. Raising hopes of a faster normalization of travel and work, Britain on Wednesday became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. But vaccine rollout in the U.S. has rolled out slower than previously expected. Some 2 million people have been vaccinated, President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday, well short of the 20 million President Donald Trump had promised by the end of the year