IV:Crude oil hits 9-month high ahead of inventory report, FOMC
Investing.com - Crude oil futures rose to the highest level since September on Wednesday, as investors remain focused on the Federal Open Market Committee policy decision later in the day.
Investors also looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD98.96 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.3% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD99.21 a barrel, the strongest level since September 17.
Markets were looking ahead to the Fed’s rate statement and press conference, amid uncertainty over future plans for monetary stimulus after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
Oil traders also looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 0.6 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by 0.7 million barrels.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels last week, blowing past expectations for a decline of 0.6 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks rose 0.92 million barrels, compared to expectations for a 0.3 million barrel increase.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Oil prices have been well-supported in recent sessions amid growing concerns that violence in Syria could spill over to neighboring oil-producing countries and disrupt supplies from the region.
Market players are also concerned about the involvement of Iran, OPEC’s sixth-biggest oil producer.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery added 0.2% to trade at USD106.24 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD7.28 a barrel.
London-traded Brent prices hit a ten-week high of USD106.63 a barrel on June 17.
