These figures are $3 a barrel and $1 a barrel higher than forecast in last month’s STEO, respectively. This was after a sustained months-long drop in prices from around $ 100 a barrel because of a global supply glut. The global benchmark, Brent crude, was up 2.1 per cent to US$52.51 a barrel, up 2.1 per cent.
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USA commercial crude inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels last week, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday after the market settlement, compared with expectations for a 2.7 million barrel draw according to a revised Reuters poll.
“With the industry projecting a decline in total USA crude oil stocks in this week’s reports, the market bears are remaining on the sidelines”.
West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose as much as 76 cents to US$51.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since July 20, and traded for US$51.02 at 11:39 am London time.
“The market remains concerned about unscheduled supply interruptions with the latest coming from additional shut-ins in Nigeria”, Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in NY, said.
Gold also was up, hitting a fresh two-week high on Wednesday as the possibility of an early USA interest rate hike faded.
The commodity hasn’t settled above $51 since July 15, when it hit $51.41, according to the Oil Price Information Service. On the production side, worries about global supply disruptions also supported the market.
The group said on Wednesday it had attacked another oil well owned by USA oil group Chevron, adding to assaults on oil infrastructure owned by Shell and ENI.
Nigeria s government and military chiefs met governors of oil-producing states after announcing it planned peace talks with militants who have repeatedly attacked pipelines and installations, slashing output.
Oil prices are expected to continue to influence the price action in the equity indices, especially in those heavily weighted by the crude oil sector.
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The EIA’s latest weekly status report, released at 10:30am EST, reported a 3.226-million draw on USA crude inventories, while the consensus had called for a drop between 2.7 million to 3.4 million barrels.
