Crude oil futures hold gains after U.S. inventories, Syria supports
Investing.com
Published Aug 28, 2013 10:39AM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD110.13 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 1.03%.
The October contract settled 2.9% higher at USD109.01 a barrel on Tuesday.
Nymex oil futures rose by as much as 2.8% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD112.23 a barrel, the strongest level since May 3, 2011.
Oil futures were likely to find support at USD105.89 a barrel, Tuesday’s low and resistance at USD113.18 a barrel, the high from May 3, 2011.
In a report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, exceeding expectations for a 200,000 increase, after 1.4 million decline the previous week.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories fell by 587,000 barrels last week, more than the expected 1.2 million decline, after 4.03 million drop the previous week.
Meanwhile, expectations for a military strike against Syria grew after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that U.S. forces are "ready" to launch strikes if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was “undeniable” proof that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against civilians.
British Prime Minister David Cameron drafted a United Nations resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and "authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians" on Wednesday. The resolution was to be put forward at a meeting of the UN Security Council later in the day.
While Syria is not a major oil producer, investors fear that the two-year-old civil war could spill over to affect oil supplies in nearby countries.
Market players were also concerned over the involvement of Iran, OPEC’s sixth-biggest oil producer.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery rallied 1.30% to trade at USD115.84 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD5.71 a barrel.
Brent prices hit USD117.33 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest level since February 20.
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Written By: Investing.com
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