Oil prices climbed to a three-week high above $52 a barrel on Wednesday as summer drivers took to the roads and forecasters predicted a stormy hurricane season that could disrupt U.S. production. U.S. light sweet crude for July delivery climbed 31 cents to $52.28 a barrel, the highest since May 10, although gains were kept in check by a strong U.S. dollar and mixed views on this week's U.S. inventory data, due out on Thursday. London IPE Brent crude rose 35 cents to $51.08. "The market is up with people covering their shorts," said Tetsu Emori, chief strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. "People are waiting for the U.S. stocks data." Crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell from a six-year high last week, helping send prices higher and leaving analysts uncertain over the outlook for this week, a preliminary survey found. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on Thursday, a day later than usual, following the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. While motoring vacations will push up demand, the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season that begins on Wednesday threatens to sap supplies from the Gulf of Mexico. Damage from Hurricane Ivan last year cut 45 million barrels of U.S. oil production or 7 percent of annual Gulf of Mexico output. The season this year could be marked by an above-average number of storms, with high odds of a major hit on the United States, researchers at the Colorado State University said.