West Texas Intermediate advanced for a third day amid speculation
that crude inventories declined for a second week in the U.S., the world’s
biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London. Futures rose as much as
0.5% in New York. Crude stockpiles probably fell by 1.5 million barrels in
the week ended June 6, according the estimates before data from the Energy
Information Administration tomorrow. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, responsible for about 40% of global supply, will maintain its
production quota at 30 million barrels a day when it meets in Vienna, said oil
ministers including Venezuela’s Rafael Ramirez. U.S. crude
inventories probably dropped to about 388 million barrels, according to the
median estimate in the Bloomberg survey of six analysts. Supplies were at 399.4
million through April 25, the most since the EIA began publishing weekly data
in 1982. Gasoline stockpiles are forecast to have expanded by 1 million barrels
to about 212.8 million, the survey shows. The peak U.S. driving season
typically starts from Memorial Day, which was on May 26, to Labor Day on September
1.
The American Petroleum Institute in Washington is
scheduled to release separate inventory data today. The industry group collects
information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals
and pipelines, while the government requires that reports be filed with the
EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, for its weekly survey. WTI for
July delivery gained as much as 48 cents to $104.89 a barrel in electronic
trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $104.69. The
contract climbed $1.75 to $104.41 yesterday, the highest close since March 3.
The volume of all futures traded was about 91 percent above the 100-day
average. Prices have increased 6.4 percent this year.
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