Crude oil futures were higher during mid-morning trade in Asia Wednesday on a bullish US weekly crude stocks report and ongoing global supply concerns. At 10:30 am Singapore time (0230 GMT), June ICE Brent crude futures were up 26 cents/b (0.36%) from Tuesday’s settle at $71.98/b, while the NYMEX May light sweet crude contract was 46 cents/b (0.72%) higher at $64.51/b.
“Crude oil futures edged up as market sentiments were buoyed by a surprise drawdown in US crude oil inventories and tighter market fundamentals in the current term,” said Phillip Futures investment analyst Benjamin Lu. Analyst reports quoting data released by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday showed US crude stocks down 3.096 million barrels for the week ended April 12.
Analysts surveyed Monday by S&P Global Platts had been expecting a 1.8 million-barrel build.
US gasoline inventories fell 3.561 million barrels in the week, according to reports on the API data. “Gasoline big draw again; so much for weak demand,” said Price Futures Group senior market analyst Phil Flynn. As the high-demand summer driving season in the US approaches, tightening inventories were expected to add upward pressure to futures prices. More definitive weekly US inventory data is due for release by the US Energy Information Administration later Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Russia’s Gazprom Neft believes OPEC and non-OPEC countries should maintain their production cut agreement “in any case,” but long-term cooperation should include price range indications to enable producers to meet long-term production goals, first deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev said Tuesday.