Oil futures edged higher Wednesday, holding ground above $60 U.S. a barrel ahead of a U.S. government report that is expected to show an eighth straight weekly decline in crude inventories.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude added 47 cents, or 0.7 %, to $61.48 U.S. a barrel. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange traded at $64.92 U.S. a barrel, 0.7% higher, or up 47 cents.
Another sizable draw in crude supplies was highlighted by Tuesday’s American Petroleum Institute report, which showed a 3.2-million-barrel draw to crude stockpiles, according to some experts.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will report it is own weekly data shortly. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a 2.3-million-barrel decline in crude supplies.
The Platts survey of analysts shows expectations for a fall of 583,000 barrels in gasoline inventories and an increase of 592,000 barrels in stocks of distillates, which include heating oil.
On Nymex, July gasoline rose almost a penny to $2.086 U.S. a gallon. July heating oil picked up 1.3 cents, or 0.7 %, to $1.924 U.S. a gallon.
July natural gas also moved up by half a cent to $2.731 U.S. per million British thermal units.
