U.S. benchmark crude-oil futures posted mild gains Wednesday, with investors waiting to assess U.S. economic growth and a statement from the Federal Reserve at the conclusion of its policy meeting. Oil market to watch U.S. growth, Fed updates Crude oil for September delivery CLU3 +0.06% rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $103.16 a barrel in electronic trade. It was a small gain after Tuesday’s loss of 1.4% on the New York Mercantile Exchange on concerns about energy demand. Meanwhile, September Brent crude UK:LCOU3 -0.23% shed 9 cents to $106.82 a barrel on ICE Futures. The moves came as investors prepared to dig through the Fed’s monetary policy statement for any signs of when the central bank plans to slow the pace of bond purchases, currently set at $85 billion a month. Economists largely expect a tapering of the bond buying to take place in September, though debate about the timing continued as Fed policy makers faced the final day of their two-day meeting. Oil futures barely budged in electronic trade late Tuesday after data showed U.S. crude supplies last week fell three times less than expected. The American Petroleum Institute said supplies declined by 700,000 barrels for the week ended July 26. A Platts survey of analysts had projected a decline of 3 million barrels. The API also said gasoline stockpiles surged 1.8 million barrels, while distillate supplies fell 500,000 barrels. Analysts expected a drawdown in gasoline supplies by 1.5 million barrels, and a climb in distillates of 800,000 barrels. The API data were “bearish overall relative to market expectations,” with the smaller-than-expected fall in crude-oil stocks coming “as the refinery operating rate dropped more than expected and imports ticked higher,” Citi Futures energy futures specialist Tim Evans said in a note late Tuesday. The jump in gasoline stocks was “a more dramatic bearish surprise,” he said. The more closely watched report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is slated to be released at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. Also Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to report second-quarter gross domestic product grew a lackluster 1%, slowing from 1.8% in the first quarter, according to analysts polled by MarketWatch. Click to Play Russian potash producer signals end to global cartel The collapse of a cartel in the potash market slams producer stocks and is another blow to commodities bulls. Risks of weaker energy demand have been flagged in the market recently, with a report Tuesday that U.S. consumer confidence fell in July, and preliminary data last week that manufacturing activity in China fell to an 11-month low. There are expectations for more soft Chinese manufacturing figures on Thursday. China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer. The Chinese government on Tuesday pledged to keep economic growth steady in the second half of 2013 despite what it said were “extremely complicated domestic and international conditions,” according to state media. The most anticipated report for financial markets, however, is due on Friday, namely the monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected to show the economy added 175,000 net jobs in July. In other energy trade Wednesday, August gasoline RBQ3 -0.08% fell 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $3.01 a gallon, and August heating oil held at $3.01 a gallon. The August contracts for the oil products will expire at the close of Nymex trading on Wednesday. The September gasoline contract RBU3 -0.35% lost 1 cent to trade at $2.97 gallon. September heating oil HOU3 -0.18% was unchanged at $3 a gallon. Natural gas for September delivery NGU13 +0.20% edged up a penny, or 0.3%, to $3.44 per million British thermal units. Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee. Get news alerts on Crude Oil - Electronic (NYMEX) Sep 2013 — or create your own.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 06:32:10 +0000
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