MW: Oil hovers around $77 a barrel, awaits inventories data
Closely watched Energy Department weekly report on deck
By Claudia Assis and Kate Gibson , MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Oil prices trimmed losses Wednesday after the best news in U.S. industrial production since August, but the upbeat report was not enough to push prices higher as stocks faltered at the open.
Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 11 cents to $76.83 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more active August contract lost 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.87.
Investors waited for the more closely watched inventories report from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency, due 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
By Claudia Assis and Kate Gibson , MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Oil prices trimmed losses Wednesday after the best news in U.S. industrial production since August, but the upbeat report was not enough to push prices higher as stocks faltered at the open.
Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 11 cents to $76.83 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more active August contract lost 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.87.
Investors waited for the more closely watched inventories report from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency, due 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Washington-based trade group American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported an increase of 579,000 barrels in the nation's oil inventories in the week ended June 11.
Gasoline stocks rose 1.344 million barrels and distillates inventories rose 2.14 million barrels.
Analysts surveyed by Platts expected a decrease of around 1.75 million barrels for crude-oil stocks and an increase of 640,000 barrels for gasoline inventories. Distillates stocks are seen rising 760,000 barrels.
Traders on Wednesday cheered a Federal Reserve report showing a 1.2% rise in industrial production in May, the largest increase since August.
They also had to contend earlier with reports showing a 10% drop in house starts and falling wholesale prices.
Currency moves continued to support oil on Wednesday. The dollar index (DXY 86.02, +0.04, +0.05%) , which contrasts the U.S. currency against six others, was up 0.3% at 86.274. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2317, -0.0004, -0.0325%) , which on Tuesday rose to a two-week high, lately stood at $1.2270.
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Tuesday with investors heartened by a rally in the U.S. stock market and a weaker dollar.
