Crude Falls From Six-Week High as API Reports Gains in Products
By Moming Zhou Dec 11, 2013 3:31 PM GMT+0100
West Texas Intermediate fell from a six-week high after the American Petroleum Institute reported increases in refined-product inventories.
Prices dropped as much as 0.6 percent. Gasoline stockpiles climbed 6.27 million barrels last week and distillate fuels, including diesel and heating oil, rose 1.18 million, the API said yesterday. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum data today. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a decrease in crude supplies and increases in refinery products.
“The big builds in products in the API report are tempering the upward enthusiasm,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. “We are looking for the EIA numbers.”
WTI for January delivery slid 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $98.03 a barrel at 9:29 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed to $98.51 yesterday, the highest settlement since Oct. 28. The volume of all futures traded was 22 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for January settlement fell 60 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $108.78 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $10.75 to WTI. The spread was $10.87 yesterday, the narrowest since Nov. 8 based on closing prices.
Gasoline futures dropped as much as 1.2 percent to $2.6509 a gallon, the least since Nov. 20.
Cushing Supplies
The industry-funded API also reported that crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex futures, gained 693,000 barrels. Total crude inventories dropped 7.5 million barrels.
The EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, may say stockpiles of crude dropped 3 barrels last week, according to the median of 10 responses in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Gasoline gained 2 million, and distillate inventories increased 1.55 million barrels in the survey.
Crude has jumped this month on speculation that stronger economic growth will boost demand. The International Energy Agency raised estimates for global oil consumption in 2014 amid a recovery in the U.S.
“Demand has started to surprise to the upside in the U.S. and Europe, hence we’ve seen a few short-covering rallies,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil market strategist at Energy Aspects Ltd., a London-based consultant.
World oil demand will increase next year by 1.2 million barrels a day, or 1.3 percent, to 92.4 million, the IEA said today in its monthly oil market report. The agency raised its projection from last month by 240,000 barrels a day.
U.S. fuel use rose above 20 million barrels a day in November for the first time since 2008, according to preliminary data.
By Moming Zhou Dec 11, 2013 3:31 PM GMT+0100
West Texas Intermediate fell from a six-week high after the American Petroleum Institute reported increases in refined-product inventories.
Prices dropped as much as 0.6 percent. Gasoline stockpiles climbed 6.27 million barrels last week and distillate fuels, including diesel and heating oil, rose 1.18 million, the API said yesterday. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum data today. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a decrease in crude supplies and increases in refinery products.
“The big builds in products in the API report are tempering the upward enthusiasm,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. “We are looking for the EIA numbers.”
WTI for January delivery slid 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $98.03 a barrel at 9:29 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed to $98.51 yesterday, the highest settlement since Oct. 28. The volume of all futures traded was 22 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for January settlement fell 60 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $108.78 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $10.75 to WTI. The spread was $10.87 yesterday, the narrowest since Nov. 8 based on closing prices.
Gasoline futures dropped as much as 1.2 percent to $2.6509 a gallon, the least since Nov. 20.
Cushing Supplies
The industry-funded API also reported that crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex futures, gained 693,000 barrels. Total crude inventories dropped 7.5 million barrels.
The EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, may say stockpiles of crude dropped 3 barrels last week, according to the median of 10 responses in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Gasoline gained 2 million, and distillate inventories increased 1.55 million barrels in the survey.
Crude has jumped this month on speculation that stronger economic growth will boost demand. The International Energy Agency raised estimates for global oil consumption in 2014 amid a recovery in the U.S.
“Demand has started to surprise to the upside in the U.S. and Europe, hence we’ve seen a few short-covering rallies,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil market strategist at Energy Aspects Ltd., a London-based consultant.
World oil demand will increase next year by 1.2 million barrels a day, or 1.3 percent, to 92.4 million, the IEA said today in its monthly oil market report. The agency raised its projection from last month by 240,000 barrels a day.
U.S. fuel use rose above 20 million barrels a day in November for the first time since 2008, according to preliminary data.