The data shows that amateur investors also expect a drawdown in crude oil inventories in today’s data.
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The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price for September’s shipment rose by US$1.32 to US$40.83 per barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange, Xinhua reported.
Standard Chartered bank said there was “no fundamental justification for recent oil-price falls” and “the global oil market has rebalanced, and US crude supply and inventories are expected to fall”.
On Wednesday morning ET, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release official USA crude oil inventory data.
A weaker greenback also prompted buying in dollar-priced oil, which becomes cheaper to holders of other currencies when the dollar falls.
Oil edged higher to $42 a barrel on Wednesday after hitting its lowest since April the previous day, supported by an industry report showing a fall in US inventories and a weaker dollar.
On Thursday, Brent crude was up 21 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $43.31 (U.S.) a barrel by 11:27 a.m. EDT.
Oil rose amid speculation that the oversupply still weighing on global markets will diminish, even after prices fell into a bear market on Monday. The contract slid $1.54, or 3.7 percent, to $40.06 on Monday, the lowest close since April 18.
USA crude oil refinery inputs averaged about 16.9 million barrels per day during the week of July 29, up 266,000 barrels per day from the previous week’s average. “The narrower the spread between domestic and imported crude oils, the more likely coastal refiners will choose to run imported crudes rather than domestic supplies shipped by rail”, EIA said.
United States crude had dropped below the USD 40 dollar mark for the first time since April on Monday.
“Gasoline stocks went down but they’re still 10 per cent more than they were last year, and they normally decline at this time of year because it’s the driving season”, said Mr Williams.
However, crude inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels against analysts’ expectations for a decrease.
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“Our long standing WTI-Brent targets of $37-38 remain as high probability and position type shorts represent a hold”, said Jim Ritterbusch of Chicago-based oil markets consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates.
