Oil And Gold Analysis: Gold Nearing 4-Month High

 | Mar 05, 2014 05:32AM ET

CL
West Texas Intermediate swung between gains and losses near $103 a barrel after falling the most in two months as crude stockpiles increased in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures were little changed in New York after declining 1.5 percent yesterday amid speculation tension was easing between Ukraine and Russia. U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.17 million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute. A government report today may show supplies expanded by 1.3 million, a Bloomberg News survey of analysts show. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI contracts, fell 2.63 million, the industry-funded API said. WTI for April delivery was at $103.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 6 cents, at 11:25 a.m. Sydney time. The contract slid $1.59 to $103.33 yesterday, the most since Jan. 3. The volume of all futures traded was about 81 percent below the 100-day average. U.S. distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, shrank by 270,000 barrels, the API reported yesterday. Energy Information Administration data today will probably show supplies decreased by 1 million, according to the median estimate of nine analysts in the Bloomberg survey.