West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest level in more than a week after a second day of gains. U.S. crude stockpiles declined for the first time this year, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Futures were little changed in New York after climbing 0.5 percent yesterday. Crude inventories fell 2.3 million barrels last week, the first drop in six weeks, data from the industry- funded API showed yesterday. An Energy Information Administration report today may show supplies rose, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. The Energy Department increased its WTI price forecast for 2013 while OPEC raised its demand outlook.
“There are positive signs for the market,” said Jonathan Barratt, the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity newsletter in Sydney. “Oil is looking to test the top-end of the range at $98.20 and a break of that will see us up to $100 a barrel.”
Crude for March delivery was at $97.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 3 cents, at 3:40 p.m. Singapore time. The contract rose 48 cents to $97.51 yesterday, the highest close since Feb 1. The volume of all contracts traded was 41 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent oil for March settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, which expires today, was up 3 cents at $118.69 a barrel. The more actively traded April contract was 3 cents higher at $117.79. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $21.15 to WTI, unchanged from yesterday. The spread was $23.18 on Feb. 8, the widest since Nov. 26.
OPEC Output
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have to supply an average of 29.8 million barrels a day of oil in 2013, or 100,000 a day more than it estimated a month ago. The group’s output in January exceeded this level by 500,000 barrels a day, at 30.3 million, according to its monthly Oil Market Report published yesterday.
WTI will average $92.81 a barrel this year, up 3.7 percent from a January projection of $89.54, the Energy Department said yesterday in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Oil in New York may rise to $100 a barrel as demand along the two-year moving average propels futures above technical support, according to Barclays Plc. Buyers have emerged near the $95 level, signaling the market may test a range of $98.25 to $98.35, the bank said in an e-mailed report.
Oil Inventories
U.S. crude stockpiles dropped to 369.5 million barrels last week, the API data show. Supplies are forecast to increase 2.2 million barrels to 373.9 million, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Gasoline inventories fell 810,000 barrels, according to the API. This compares with a projected 500,000 barrel gain in the survey. Distillate fuels, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, slid 1.1 million barrels, compared with an estimated 1.75 million-barrel decline in the survey.
The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey.
Record fuel exports are straining the capacity of ports along the Gulf of Mexico, causing
congestion at terminals, deepening a glut of gasoline and lowering prices.
Distillates leaving the U.S. in the week ended Feb. 1, mostly from the Gulf Coast, climbed 8.7 percent from a year earlier, government data show. Gasoline in the region sank to a record low versus futures in December and the discount yesterday was more than four times wider than the 10-year average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
