Oil futures gained ground on Thursday after U.S. government data revealed strong demand for fuel, along with a rise in weekly crude inventories that was bigger than the market expected, but less than what a trade group reported.
Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, took a turn lower then rebounded as traders weighed weekly U.S. data showing a rise in supplies of the fuel that was above market expectations against forecasts for warmer temperatures that may raise demand for the fuel.
July crude was last up 67 cents, or 0.7%, to $103.39 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at around $103.06 U.S. before the inventory data. On Wednesday, oil futures settled down 1.3% — at their lowest level in more than a week.
Early Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles rose 1.7 million barrels for the week ended May 23.
Analysts polled by Platts forecast a climb of one million barrels, but the American Petroleum Institute report late Wednesday showed a rise of 3.5 million for the week. Supply data were released a day later than usual due to last Monday’s Memorial Day holiday.
Over the last four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied, which offers an indication of demand, averaged 9.1 million barrels a day. That’s up 5.4% from the same period last year, the EIA said. Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 19.1 million barrels a day, up 2.2% from the same time last year.
Gasoline supplies fell by 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 200,000 barrels, according to the EIA. Gasoline stockpiles were expected to fall by 200,000 barrels, while distillates, which include heating oil, were seen up 290,000 barrels, according to the Platts poll.
Against that backdrop, gasoline for June delivery gained two cents, or 0.7%, to $3.03 U.S. a gallon, while June heating oil traded little changed at $2.93 U. S. a gallon. The June contracts were set to expire at the Nymex close on Friday.
Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, continued to decline, falling 1.5 million barrels last week, while crude-oil imports edged up by 1.3 million barrels, EIA data showed.
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