MW: Oil prices rise after IEA report; supply data due
By Victor Reklaitis and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose on Wednesday following a mixed report from the International Energy Agency and ahead of weekly supply data expected at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Crude oil for July delivery CLN3 +0.64% was last up 70 cents, or 0.7%, to $96.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The IEA said on Wednesday that China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, will use less oil this year than previously expected, although its total oil demand will grow by 3.8%.
The Paris-based energy agency made little changes to its global forecast and said it expects demand will rise by 785,000 barrels a day, or 0.9%, for 2013.
On the supply side, the IEA said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ crude-oil supplies rose by 135,000 barrels a day in May, reaching a seven-month high and adding to worries that rising supply will outstrip demand.
Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch, however, pointed out at least one positive aspect in the report: an above-average decline in North Sea production due to maintenance this summer. He said that should prove bullish for oil prices.
Late Tuesday, crude prices were weighed down by a report from the American Petroleum Institute that showed U.S. crude-oil stocks rose by nearly 9 million barrels for the week ending June 7. Analysts polled by Platts had expected no change.
The more closely watched supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration are due Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Analysts see gasoline stocks up 1 million barrels, distillate stocks up 1.4 million barrels and refinery utilization down 0.3 percentage points to 88.1% of capacity.
Investors this year have grappled with the issue of lofty oil supplies. Last week’s EIA report showed total U.S. crude supplies at 397.6 million barrels, the highest level since at least 1978, when the agency began collecting the data.
London-traded Brent July crude UK:LCON3 +0.56% moved up by 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $103.25 a barrel on ICE Futures.
U.S. crude-oil futures and Brent crude prices fell on Tuesday as OPEC trimmed its oil-demand growth guidance for the year by 10,000 barrels per day from the prior month’s report. But OPEC said demand should still increase by about 780,000 barrels a day in 2013.
Meanwhile, July gasoline RBN3 +0.74% advanced 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.83 a gallon, while July heating oil HON3 +1.02% added 3 cents, or 1%, to $2.89 a gallon. Natural gas for July delivery NGN13 +0.56% edged up 2 cent, or 0.4%, to $3.74 per million British thermal units.
Victor Reklaitis is a New York-based markets writer for MarketWatch. Follow him on Twitter @VicRek.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin. Carla Mozee contributed to this story.
