DTN Oil Update
Oil to Gasoline Futures Up on Crude Draw, Supply Risks
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil to gasoline futures rose Thursday Dec. 18, retaining the upward sentiment from the prior session inspired by a U.S. naval blockade on OPEC producer Venezuela and a weekly draw in crude inventories reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
NYMEX WTI for January delivery climbed by $0.35, or 0.6%, to $56.16 bbl. It rallied 1.2% on Wednesday, Dec. 17, to recover from the prior session's 2021 low of $54.89.
ICE Brent futures for January advanced by $0.27, or 0.4%, to $59.93 bbl, after the higher settlement of 1.4% on Wednesday. January Brent fell beneath the key $60 bbl support two days earlier.
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NYMEX front-month gasoline rose by $0.0100 to $1.7043 after a drop beneath $1.60 earlier in the week.
Front-month ULSD bucked the upward trend, sliding by $0.0063 to $2.1432 bbl.
The U.S. Dollar Index was flat at 98.4 points.
Crude to fuel futures rallied Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, a U.S. naval blockade that would prevent all sanctioned tankers from accessing Venezuelan oil. Cargo surveyors said the Latin American country handled between 921,000 and 967,000 bpd of exports in November, mostly headed for China.
Market sentiment was also boosted the EIA's report of a second straight weekly draw in U.S. crude inventories.
Commercial crude stocks fell by 1.3 million bbl to 424.4 million bbl, following the prior week's drop of 1.8 million bbl, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Crude stocked at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for WTI futures -- a key determinant for pricing -- also fell, by 700,000 bbl to 20.9 million bbl. In the previous week, Cushing inventories fell by 300,000 bbl.
Distillate fuel oil inventories, meanwhile, rose by 1.7 million bbl to 118.5 million bbl, adding to the prior weekly growth of 2.5 million bbl.
Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.8 million bbl to 225.6 million bbl during the profiled week, adding to the prior week's rise of 6.4 million bbl.
