Oil prices up 1 percent after ninth weekly U.S. crude drawdown
A pumpjack drills for oil in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose as much as 1 percent on Wednesday, lifting U.S. crude from two-month lows, after the U.S. government reported a ninth straight week of crude inventory draws, easing some concerns in a market worried about a glut.
U.S. gasoline prices, however, hit four-month lows after the data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration also showed a surprise build in supplies of the motor fuel despite forecasts of American drivers hitting the road in record numbers this summer. [EIA/S]
The EIA said crude inventories fell 2.3 million barrels in the week to July 15, close to analysts' expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrels.
"While in line with expectations, the drawdown is large enough to provide support, and refiner demand for crude remains elevated," said John Kilduff, partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital.
Gasoline stocks
Stocks of the motor fuel rose in spite of gasoline output slipping 168,000 barrels per day even as refinery crude runs increased 319,000 bpd, the EIA data showed.
"We continue to see these builds in gasoline which suggest the market is fundamentally not sound to sustain a rally," said Tariq Zahir, a trader in WTI crude spreads at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York.
Brent crude's front-month contract,
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude's August
Brent's premium versus WTI
U.S. gasoline
Oil prices are up nearly 75 percent since hitting 12-year lows of around $27 for Brent and about $26 for WTI in the first quarter. The rally stalled after the two benchmarks breached the $50 psychological barrier in May amid worries that higher prices will add to production.
Prices had been depressed lately by a glut in motor fuels despite the U.S. peak summer driving season.
"Absolute inventories rose to yet another new all-time record" last week, Kyle Cooper, analyst at IAF Advisors in Houston said, referring to the 2.1 billion barrels of total petroleum supply, including strategic reserve stocks, cited by the EIA.
"Next week may see an increase in refined product output," he added.
(Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in LONDON; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Chris Reese)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Oil prices flat as markets await more economic cues; US inventories shrink
- HP Inc. (HPQ) Climbs Following Stake by Greenlight Capital
- Oil prices dip as Iran-Israel fears cool, economic jitters persist
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Commodities, ReutersRelated Entities
Hedge Funds, Crude OilSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!