BLBG:WTI Oil Set for First Monthly Drop Since October as Supply Rises
West Texas Intermediate crude is poised for its first monthly decline since October. U.S. crude stockpiles rose less than forecast, and fuel demand increased in the world’s biggest oil consumer.
Futures fluctuated as equities advanced on stronger-than- estimated U.S. economic data. Oil supplies climbed 1.1 million barrels last week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed. They were expected to rise by 2.5 million, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. U.S. fuel consumption averaged 18.5 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up 2 percent from 2012, according to the report.
“It’s up to the U.S. and Asia to kick things along, and if they can do it, then you’ll start to see demand pick up and prices trade higher again,” said Jonathan Barratt, the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity newsletter in Sydney. “The key levels that we are watching are $88.50 through to $94.50 a barrel. The rebound in equities is providing some support for oil.”
WTI for April delivery was down 16 cents at $92.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 3:18 p.m. in Singapore. The volume of all futures traded was 41 percent below the 100-day average. The price rose 13 cents to $92.76 yesterday, the highest close since Feb. 25. The contract is down 4.8 percent this month, the first time since 2006 it fell in February.
Brent oil for April settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange slid 5 cents to $111.82 a barrel. The contract fell 84 cents yesterday. Volumes were about three times the 100-day average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $19.26 to WTI futures, compared with $19.11 yesterday.
Fuel Supplies
U.S. gasoline stockpiles dropped 1.9 million barrels last week, the EIA report showed. They were projected to decline by 1 million, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, increased 557,000 barrels, the data showed. Supplies were expected to decrease by 1.55 million.
Iran hailed a positive “turning point” after international talks about its nuclear program with Western officials. The Islamic republic’s negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said yesterday a “more realistic and logical” proposal was made by the U.S. and its five partners at the two-day session in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Iran Talks
In exchange for Iran agreeing to cease its output of 20 percent enriched uranium, the group offered to ease restrictions on its exports of petrochemical products and some additional items, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Technical talks will be held in Istanbul on March 18, and political discussions with international negotiators will resume in Almaty on April 5 to April 6, Jalili told reporters.
Oil in New York has technical support along its lower Bollinger Band, about $92.35 a barrel today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Futures yesterday traded below the indicator for a fifth day before settling higher, signaling chart support, where buy orders may be clustered.
Orders for U.S. durable goods excluding transportation equipment, which is often volatile, climbed 1.9 percent in January, exceeding all forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, Commerce Department data showed. An index of pending home resales rose 4.5 percent to 105.9, the most since April 2010, the National Association of Realtors said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Schmollinger at christian.s@bloomberg.net
