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CRUDE
oil and gasoline rose to records after the Energy
Department reported unexpected declines in US crude
inventories and refinery operating rates.
Oil
climbed to $115.21 a barrel in
New York,
the highest since futures began trading in 1983. Oil
supplies dropped 2.36 million barrels to 313.7 million
in the week ended April 11, the department said
Wednesday. Gasoline stocks fell for a fifth week and
refineries operated at their lowest rate since October
2005.
“The
unexpected drop in inventories was certainly the key
factor that contributed to a lift in oil prices,’” said
David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank
of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “We’ve had a period of high
gasoline inventories and moderate growth in gasoline
demand, and that has led to decisions to pare back
refinery utilization.’”
Crude
oil for May delivery rose as much as 28 cents in
after-hours electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and was at $115 a barrel at
11:14 a.m. Singapore time.
On
Wednesday, oil futures gained $1.14, or 1 percent, to
settle at $114.93 a barrel, a record close.
Prices
are up 4.4 percent this week and 82 percent from a year
ago.
Brent
crude for June settlement rose as much as 17 cents to a
record $112.83 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe
exchange.
It was
at $112.73 at
11:16 a.m.
Singapore time. The contract Wednesday climbed $1.08, or
1 percent, to close at an all-time high $112.66 a
barrel.
Inventories fall
Gasoline
inventories fell 5.52 million barrels to 215.8 million
barrels, the Energy Department report showed, the
biggest drop since August. A 1.8 million-barrel decline
was forecast, according to the median of responses by 15
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Supplies reached a
peak of 235 million barrels on March 7, their highest
since 1994.
US
refineries operated at 81.4 percent of capacity, the
lowest since October 2005 following hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
Lower
margins, or crack spreads, reduced the incentive for
refiners to process oil into products, including
gasoline and diesel fuel.
“The
gasoline crack has been a laggard,” said Anthony Nunan,
assistant general manager for risk management at
Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo. “Refineries are possibly
reducing run rates to alleviate the oversupply in
gasoline.”
Gasoline
for May delivery climbed as much as 1.55 cents to a
record $2.9545 a gallon in Nymex trading. It was at
$2.95 a gallon at 8:49 a.m. Singapore time.
On
Wednesday, it touched $2.9457, an intraday record for
gasoline to be blended with ethanol, known as RBOB,
which began trading in October 2005. The contract closed
up 5.8 cents, or 2 percent, to $2.939 a gallon, the
highest-ever settlement price.
Crude
stockpiles
Crude-oil stockpiles were forecast to rise 1.8 million
barrels last week, according to the median of responses
by 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
US
supplies of distillate fuels, a category that includes
heating oil and diesel, rose 52,000 barrels to 106.1
million barrels, the first gain in 10 weeks. A 1.65
million-barrel decline was forecast in the Bloomberg
News survey.
Heating
oil for May delivery was at $3.2825 a gallon at 9:08
a.m. Singapore time in Nymex trading. The contract on
Wednesday rose 0.91 cent, or 0.3 percent, to settle at a
record $3.283 a gallon in
New York. Futures touched an intraday record of $3.3204 a gallon on
April 10. (Bloomberg) |
