Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

West Texas Intermediate crude rose from the lowest price in more than seven months before supply data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer. Brent climbed in London.

Futures increased as much as 0.5 percent in New York after plunging 3.2 percent yesterday. Crude stockpiles probably shrank by 1 million barrels to 359.5 million last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before a report from the Energy Information Administration tomorrow. That would be a third weekly decline. Output in Libya, an OPEC producer, expanded to 710,000 barrels a day, state-run National Oil Corp. said.

"The drive season was pretty good, and that's kept the price from collapsing," David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone in reference to the peak U.S. driving period that typically ends on Labor Day. "The market will be watching for the EIA numbers and the jobless claims to see the current direction of the U.S. economy."

WTI for October delivery climbed as much as 46 cents to $93.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $93.25 at 12:48 p.m. Singapore time. The contract dropped to $92.88 yesterday, the lowest close since Jan. 14. The volume of all futures traded was about 28 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 5.3 percent this year.

Brent for October settlement gained 35 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $100.69 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $7.50 to WTI, compared with $7.46 yesterday.

Fuel Supplies

U.S. gasoline inventories dropped by 1.45 million barrels to 210.9 million during the week ended Aug. 29, the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed before the EIA report shows. Distillate supplies, which includes heating oil and diesel, fell by 1.2 million to 121.6 million.

The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute in Washington is scheduled to release a separate stockpile report today. The API collects data on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the EIA, the Energy Department's statistical arm.

The U.S. Labor Department will report data on jobless claims tomorrow. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is forecast to climb by 2,000 to 300,000 in the week ended Aug. 30, the median forecast of 48 economists in a separate survey by Bloomberg shows.

In Libya, National Oil Corp. buildings in Tripoli have yet to be affected by fighting between rival militias, spokesman Mohamed Elhararai said yesterday. The nation is the smallest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

A fire at an oil pipeline near the town of Awwamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia was caused by a shoot-out, according to a statement yesterday from the country's Interior Ministry, which didn't give details. The blaze has been brought under control.