Oil turned higher on Wednesday with Brent crude climbing above $113 U.S. a barrel after weekly U.S. government inventory figures an unexpected draw in stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel
Distillate stockpiles fell 2.04 million barrels versus expectations for a 100,000-barrel build, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed.
Gasoline stocks rose 3.79 million barrels versus a forecast for a 300,000-barrel build, appearing to highlight concerns high prices were eroding U.S. consumption, The season higher gasoline usage is usually measured from the Memorial Day holiday which falls this weekend.
Brent crude for July was up $1.47 at $114 a barrel late Wednesday morning, up from as low as $111.14 U.S. a barrel earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 69 cents at $100.28 U.S. a barrel, up from a low of $98.26 U.S.
Attention was also redirected to the Middle East as unrest escalated in Yemen and as NATO strikes intensified over Libya.
Sharp upward revisions of oil price forecasts by Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have deepened the schism between oil bears and bulls to levels unseen since oil prices peaked in 2008, a Reuters monthly poll showed.
While bears cited weak demand and ebbing geopolitical risk premiums as reasons for oil to plunge to $75 U.S. per barrel, bulls saw it soaring to $140 U.S. due to supply shortages and the limited ability of OPEC to cushion any new disruption.
A report on Wednesday showed a larger than expected drop in new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in April, which recorded their largest decline in six months a government report showed on Wednesday.
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