DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Rises as EIA Reports Crude, Gasoline Draws
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures edged up on Wednesday following Energy Information Administration (EIA) and American Petroleum Institute (API) data showing draws in commercial crude oil and gasoline, while distillate inventories climbed last week.
The front-month NYMEX WTI futures contract rose by $0.16 to $65.47 bbl, and the September ICE Brent futures contract increased by $0.12 to $68.71 bbl.
The August RBOB futures contract climbed by $0.0214 to $2.1233 gallon, while the ULSD futures contract for August delivery edged up by $0.0010 to $2.4528 gallon.
The U.S. dollar weakened by 0.152 points to 96.965 against a basket of foreign currencies.
The EIA reported on Wednesday that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dropped by 3.2 million bbl to 419.0 million bbl, about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. This figure was larger than the 577,000 bbl draw the American Petroleum Institute reported on Tuesday, July 22.
EIA data also showed gasoline inventories fell by 1.7 million bbl to 231.1 million bbl, slightly above the five-year average. API reported a 1.228 million bbl draw.
Distillate fuel inventories increased by 2.9 million bbl to 109.9 million bbl, compared to the 3.48 million bbl build reported by API. Distillate stocks are currently about 12% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA stated.
Refinery utilization increased to 95.59% from 93.97% seen last week, EIA data showed.
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