March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to the highest in four months on speculation that a government report will show that U.S. supplies of gasoline and distillate fuel declined.
Gasoline stockpiles dropped 650,000 barrels last week, according to the median of 14 responses in a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow. Inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably fell 100,000 barrels. Prices were down most of the day because of lower stock prices and the rising dollar.
“The product markets are providing some support for crude,” said Tom Bentz, a senior energy analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. “There really aren’t many crude oil headlines today.”
Crude oil for May delivery rose 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $53.98 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Nov. 28. Prices are up 21 percent this year.
Contango
The price of oil on the Nymex for delivery in June is $1.65 a barrel higher than for May, down from a $1.93 premium yesterday. December futures are up $7.70 from the front month, down from $8.28.
This structure, in which the future month’s price is higher than the one before it, is known as contango and allows buyers to profit from hoarding oil. A narrowing spread reduces the incentive to stockpile crude oil.
The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly supply report tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
Crude oil stockpiles rose 4.58 million barrels to 354.5 million in the week ended March 20, a report by the industry- funded American Petroleum Institute showed. The API inventory report was released today at 4:30 p.m. in Washington. more...
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar