DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Up on API Data, FOMC Meeting
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures rose Wednesday, trimming losses of the last two trading session driven by expectations of tight supplies after the American Petroleum Institute reported a fall on crude inventories last week.
Muted trading activity kept the market bearish in the last two trading sessions as traders focused on the Federal Open Market Committee meeting which will take place Wednesday. The Federal Reserve is expected to announce an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, with inflation projected to be 4.3% above its 2% target.
But oil futures rebounded Wednesday on American Petroleum Institute data showing commercial crude oil inventory dropped 4.7 million barrels (bbl) in the week ended Dec. 13.
API reported supply at the Cushing, Oklahoma, tank farm -- the delivery point for New York Mercantile Exchange West Texas Intermediate futures -- increased 800,000 bbl last week.â?¯
The data show inventory of gasoline and distillate fuel continued to build.
API said gasoline supply increased 2.4 million bbl in the week ended Dec. 13 while distillate supply rose 700,000 bbl.â?¯
Separately, Energy Information Administration data released Tuesday showed the national average for retail regular gasoline moved off the lowest level since May 2021, up 0.8 cent to $3.016 gallon as of Monday, Dec. 16. The gain marked the first in nine weeks.
The Midwest PADD 2 posted the sharpest weekly increase at $2.884 gallon, 7.6 cents up on the week, followed by the Rocky Mountain PADD 4 where price climbed for the first time in 12 weeks, up 5.3 cents as of Monday to $2.839 gallon.
But the data showed the decline in prices was limited to PADDs 5, 3, and 1. In the West Coast PADD 5 price dropped 4.2 cents to $3.785 gallon, the lowest level since late June 2021. The East Coast PADD 1 price dipped 0.8 cent to $2.991 gallon.
At the Gulf Coast PADD 3, the average retail gasoline price slid to a roughly one-year low, down 4.1 cents to $2.562 gallon.
At 8:02 a.m. EST, NYMEX January WTI futures were up by $0.71 to $70.79 barrel (bbl). The February Brent contract was $73.75 up $0.56.
NYMEX January ULSD futures rose $0.0272 to $2.2551 gallon while NYMEX January RBOB futures were at $1.9655 gallon up $0.0216.
Maria Eugenia Garcia can be reached at Maria.Garcia@dtn.com
