On Wednesday, oil prices rose slightly as the market awaited a weekly snapshot of crude stockpiles in the United States- the world’s biggest energy consuming nation.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April gained 27 cents to 79.96 dollars a barrel at about 0930 GMT. Brent North Sea crude for April climbed 19 cents to 78.37 dollars a barrel.

Traders were turning their attention to an upcoming stockpiles report from the US Department of Energy (DoE). While analysts polled by Dow Jones expect the DoE report to show that US crude inventories rose by one million barrels last week and that distillate stocks declined by 700,000 barrels.

According to the poll results showed, the gasoline, or petrol, reserves are forecast to have risen by 700,000 barrels.

A report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) published on Tuesday showed that US crude reserves had risen by 2.67 million barrels in the past week while gasoline reserves increased 909,000 barrels. Distillate stocks, which include heating fuel, fell 4.07 million barrels.

Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz, said the crude build-up is certainly bearish so inventories remains high, and the (supply and demand) fundamentals will prevent pricing from being sustainable at the 80-plus dollar level.

Oil prices had closed higher Tuesday, buoyed by a weak greenback which makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for holders of foreign currencies, pushing up demand, said traders.

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com)

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On Wednesday, oil prices hovered below $79 a barrel in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting demand may be improving.

At midday time in Singapore for April delivery, Benchmark crude was up 6 cents to $78.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.45 to settle at $78.86 on Tuesday.

Oil has bounced between $70 a barrel and $80 for most of the last six months as investors wait for signs that U.S. crude demand is catching up with an overall economic recovery.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, Crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected an increase of 2 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, also fell while gasoline supplies grew, the API said.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil gained 0.64 cent to $2.0389 a gallon, and gasoline rose 0.23 cent to $2.0679 a gallon.Natural gas was steady at $4.779 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude was up 4 cents at $77.29 on the ICE futures exchange in London.

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com)

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On Monday, oil prices rose above $80 a barrel in Asia, extending a three-week rally as investors expect the U.S. central bank to keep interest rates near zero to help fuel economic growth, which would boost crude consumption.

At midday time in Singapore for March delivery, Benchmark crude was up 45 cents to $80.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 75 cents to settle at $79.81 a barrel on Friday.

Investors are betting that a low inflation rate and weak employment figures will lead the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.

The Fed surprised investors late Thursday when it raised the so-called “discount” lending rate on emergency bank loans by one-quarter point to 0.75 percent. But Fed officials on Friday were quick to downplay the possibility of across-the-board rate hikes.

According to the Labor department, the consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent in January, and excluding volatile food and energy, prices fell 0.1 percent, the first monthly decline since December 1982.

An energy analyst with consultancy Purvin & Gertz, Victor Shum, there’s hardly any fear of inflation right now. “With unemployment still high, the market doesn’t expect the Fed to raise interest rates until the U.S. economy is stronger.”

Low interest rates and massive government stimulus spending could also help weaken the U.S. dollar, which would further support oil prices. A weaker dollar makes dollar-based commodities such as oil cheaper for foreign investors.

Oil has jumped from $69.59 a barrel on Feb. 5.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 1.91 cents to $2.089 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.58 cents to $2.102 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 8.1 cents to $4.963 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude was down 44 cents at $78.63 on the ICE futures exchange in London.

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com)

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