Crude oil futures hold near 2-week high on U.S. demand hopes
Investing.com
Published Apr 25, 2013 04:11AM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at USD91.44 a barrel during European morning trade, little changed on the day.
New York-traded oil prices held in a range between USD91.39 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD91.97 a barrel, the strongest level since April 12.
Oil prices rallied more than 2% on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed oil supplies rose less-than-expected last week, while gasoline stocks fell sharply.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 0.9 million barrels, below expectations for an increase of 1.5 million barrels.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 3.9 million barrels, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.2 million barrels.
The Energy Information Administration said U.S. gasoline demand rose 4.4% to 8.75 million barrels a day last week, the highest level since November.
Investors now looked ahead to the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day to further asses the strength of the country’s economy.
Market players are also eying Friday’s U.S. data on first quarter growth.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Oil prices were also supported amid growing expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates at its meeting next month to spur economic activity and boost growth in the euro zone.
The euro zone accounted for nearly 12% of global oil consumption last year.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for June delivery declined 0.2% to trade at USD101.53 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD10.09 a barrel, the narrowest gap since January 2012.
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