MW: Oil at five-week high on fear of curbed supply
Iran reportedly cuts some European shipments
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)—Crude-oil futures rallied on Wednesday to their best level in five weeks as reports of Iran curbing some deliveries to Europe stoked fears of a broader supply disruption.
Crude for March delivery CL2H +0.70% advanced 91 cents, or 0.9%, to $101.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, hovering at a one-month high.
According to Iranian state broadcast reports, Iran was cutting off shipments to six European countries to retaliate against an oil embargo and sanctions imposed by the European Union last month.
The U.S. doesn’t allow oil imports from Iran, but analysts have said any fears of supply disruption in the Middle East could create havoc in the market.
Meanwhile, other energy futures traded higher, with natural gas the outlier.
Gasoline for March delivery RB2H +0.32% rose 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.99 a gallon. March natural gas NG12H -0.99% declined 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.51 per million British thermal units.
Traders awaited for official word on weekly inventories. The Energy Information Administration later Wednesday is scheduled to report on supplies for the week ended Feb. 10.
Analysts polled by Platts expect crude supplies to rise 1.9 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 10. Gasoline stockpiles are seen up 600,000 barrels, while inventories of distillates, which include heating oil, are seen down 600,000 barrels.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch
