Oil edged lower on Thursday, but held above $63, as dealers waited to see if an expected draw on U.S. commercial crude oil stocks would help extend a five-day rally. U.S. February light crude eased 22 cents to $63.20 a barrel by 0818 GMT, still holding most of the $5-plus gains it has racked up since last week as fresh investor funds stream into the market. London Brent crude shed 27 cents to $61.41. With a row between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas supplies now resolved, traders will focus on U.S. government stock data expected to show a decline in crude stocks but a rise in product inventories later in the day. Russia and its former Soviet neighbour agreed to a five-year gas supply deal on Wednesday after settling a dispute over prices that had temporarily disrupted supplies to an anxious Europe, which depends on the giant producer for a quarter of its gas. That news initially took prices nearly $1 lower on Wednesday, but a commodity-wide flush of fund money and forecasts for a decline in crude stocks helped the market close 28 cents higher. "Bottomline is this market is going to hold its strength," said Bob Frye, a commodities analyst with the U.S.-based Access Futures and Options Trading, at Woodside California.