OIL FUTURES: Crude Up As Oil Stocks Rise, Demand Improves
posted on
Mar 03, 2010 03:17PM
Dear shareholders,
In an effort to keep you up to date on all pertinent information regarding the resource sector and more specifically oil demand, please see the attached article titled OIL FUTURES: Crude Up As Oil Stocks Rise, Demand Improves.
Refiners also raised their operating rate to 81.9% of capacity, indicating that they are preparing for fuel consumption to grow as gasoline demand approaches its summer peak. The 0.7 percentage point increase defied the analyst consensus for no change in runs.
By Brian Baskin
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures held onto earlier gains Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a big jump in oil inventories along with an improvement in demand.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery recently traded 60 cents, or 0.8%, higher at $80.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 46 cents higher at $78.64 a barrel.
The weekly inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration offered no sign of tightening supplies, with oil inventories up 4 million barrels last week, where analysts had given an average forecast for an increase of 1 million barrels. Fuel stockpiles came in close to expectations, with gasoline stocks up 800,000 barrels and distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, down 800,000 barrels.