MW:Crude gains modestly ahead of U.S. inventories update
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures made early gains Wednesday, helped by better optimism over prospects for euro-zone economic growth after the European Central Bank held a successful loan auction.
Still ahead for energy traders is U.S. data on petroleum inventories, which are expected to show crude supplies fell last week.
Crude for August delivery rose 18 cents to $76.12 a barrel in electronic trading.
On Tuesday, crude sank 3% as a drop in U.S. consumer confidence and a downward revision in a leading Chinese economic indicator sparked a broad market selloff.
Earlier Wednesday, payroll processor ADP said private-sector employment increased by 13,000 in June. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting an increase of 65,000.
The weekly inventories data from Energy Information Administration are due out at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute estimated a decline of 3.4 million barrels in the nation's oil stockpiles for the week ended June 25.
