Oil Rises From One-Month Low Before U.S. Crude Inventory Data

by Grant Smith

“Oil rose from its lowest close in a month amid estimates that U.S. crude inventories continue to shrink, although refined products are growing more plentiful.

Futures gained as much as 0.9 percent in New York after dropping 1 percent Monday. U.S. crude stockpiles are forecast to have decreased for a fourth week from a record last month, according to a Bloomberg survey before a report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories probably climbed last week. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release its supply data on Tuesday.

Oil has fallen the past two weeks on concerns increasing U.S. crude production will offset efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to eliminate a global supply glut. While Fereidun Fesharaki, the head of industry consultant FGE, says OPEC is certain to extend output cuts when its ministers meet later in May, industry data showed American rigs targeting crude climbed to the highest level in two years.

“Everyone is waiting for the oil-inventory drawdowns materializing as a result of the OPEC and non-OPEC cuts,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich.

West Texas Intermediate for June delivery increased 38 cents to $49.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:15 p.m. London time. Futures fell 49 cents to $48.84 on Monday, the lowest settlement since March 28. Total volume traded was about 16 percent above the 100-day average.

U.S. Fuels

Brent for July settlement rose 54 cents to $52.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract dropped 53 cents to settle at $51.52 a barrel on Monday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $2.52 premium to July WTI.

Supplies of gasoline probably rose 1 million barrels to 242 million and inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, surged 1.5 million barrels to 152.4 million last week, according to a Bloomberg survey of eight analysts. Nationwide crude stockpiles are forecast to have dropped by 3.25 million to 525.5 million barrels in the week ended April 28.”

1 de mayo de 2017 19:15 GMT-5

Bloomberg

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