DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Rise on Weekly US Crude Inventory Draw
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures remained bullish Thursday, supported by a weekly U.S. government inventory report showing oil and product stocks declining, with commercial crude oil inventories falling for a fifth straight week to an 11-year seasonal low.
The NYMEX WTI futures contract for August delivery rose by $0.31 to $65.23 bbl, and the front-month ICE Brent futures contract remained steady at $67.69 bbl compared to the previous trading session.
Downstream, July RBOB gasoline futures edged up by $0.0126 to $2.0950 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract advanced by $0.0646 to $2.3610 gallon.
In contrast, the U.S. Dollar Index decreased by 0.508 points to a three-year low 96.765 against a basket of foreign currencies including the euro, the Canadian dollar, among others.
Wednesday, June 25, the U.S. Energy Information Administration confirmed the large draw to domestic crude oil inventories reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, June 24. The EIA data showed that commercial inventories shrank by 5.8 million bbls in the week ending June 20, more than 1 million bbls above API's estimate. It was above market expectations of a 600,000 bbl decline. Gasoline and diesel stocks also fell sharply last week, stoking bullish sentiment.
Thursday morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) dropped at an annual rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of this year, according to its third estimate of this economic indicator. This figure was above the market expectation of a 2% drop.
"The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and a decrease in government spending. These movements were partly offset by increases in investment and consumer spending," the BEA stated.
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