West Texas Intermediate headed for its first monthly advance since February as crude inventories shrank at the delivery point for New York contracts. Brent was steady in London, poised for a second monthly gain amid separatist violence in Ukraine. Futures were little changed after rising 0.8 percent yesterday. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma , the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, dropped by 1.53 million barrels last week to the lowest level since November 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration. Supplies nationwide expanded by 1.66 million, compared with a 500,000 barrel gain estimated in a Bloomberg News survey . “Cushing is certainly a factor” supporting front-month WTI prices, Tony Machacek, a broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London, said by e-mail. “Total stocks are high, so there shouldn’t be any strong fundamental reason for prices to move too much higher.” WTI for July delivery was at $103.20 a barrel in electronic […]