MW: Crude oil futures rise ahead of supply data; nat gas slips
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose on Thursday, receiving a lift from a drop in U.S. jobless claims, while natural gas futures fell after inventories data.
Crude oil for October delivery rose $1.07 to $75.74 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Natural gas for October delivery slid 5 cents for the session to $3.76 per million British thermal units, giving up earlier gains, after inventories data were in line with expectations.
The Energy Information Administration said working gas in storage rose 58 billion cubic feet from the prior week. Analysts polled by Platts were expecting a net injection of 56 to 60 billion cubic feet.
Weekly oil inventories data will be released at 11 a.m. Eastern.
Supplies ahead
Analysts polled by Platts expect weekly data to show a drawdown of 730,000 barrels in U.S. commercial crude-oil stocks for the week ended Sept. 3. Gasoline stocks are also expected to have fallen by 820,000 barrels, while distillates stockpiles likely rose by 940,000.
Lifting energy futures early, the Labor Department said jobless claims fell 27,000 to 451,000 in the latest week. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a level of 470,000.
Also, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries left its forecast for world oil demand broadly unchanged. World oil demand growth in 2010 is expected at one million barrels a day.
On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration had trimmed its forecast for global oil demand next year, citing lowered expectations for global economic growth.
In its monthly report, OPEC said that "global oil demand was higher than expected in the first half of the year, supported by stimulus packages in key consuming countries."
"With these winding down, demand in the second half is expected to move lower," it added. In 2011, world oil demand growth is expected to continue at the current level of one million barrels a day, unchanged from the last assessment, OPEC said.
The EIA said it expects global oil consumption to rise by 1.4 million barrels a day in 2011, down from last month's forecast of 1.5 million barrels.
