Oil surges as US supplies drop
06/05/2015 09:39
Crude oil futures soared in the domestic and overseas market on Tuesday as investors and speculators booked fresh positions in the energy commodity as an unexpected decline in US crude supplies last week signaled a pickup in fuel demand in the world’s biggest crude oil consumer.
US crude oil stockpiles fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended May 1, 2015, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said, compared to analysts’ estimates of an uptick of 1 million barrels.
Moreover, a disruption of Libyan exports with protests leading to a stoppage of crude shipments to an eastern port in Libya, Africa’s biggest holder of oil reserves fanned speculation of tighter fuel supplies.
Services activity in the US expanded at the fastest pace since November last month, signaling a pickup in the world’s biggest economy, lifting the demand outlook for the fuel.
The gauge measuring US services activity rose to 57.8 in April from 56.5 in March, with a reading above 50 signaling expansion.
Investors cast aside a report which showed a drop in US consumer sentiment in May and that the country’s trade gap widened to the highest level in more than six years in March.
The gauge measuring US consumer sentiment fell to 49.7 this month from 51.3 in April, TIPP said. The US trade deficit jumped 43.1 per cent to USD 51.4 billion in March 2015, the largest since October 2008.
Oil may retreat today as investors resort to profit-booking ahead of the weekly EIA supplies data.
At the MCX, Crude oil futures, for the May 2015 contract, closed at Rs 3,857 per barrel, up by 2.8 per cent, after opening at Rs 3,746, against the previous close price of Rs 3,752. It touched an intraday high of Rs 3,886 till the closing.
06/05/2015 09:39
Crude oil futures soared in the domestic and overseas market on Tuesday as investors and speculators booked fresh positions in the energy commodity as an unexpected decline in US crude supplies last week signaled a pickup in fuel demand in the world’s biggest crude oil consumer.
US crude oil stockpiles fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended May 1, 2015, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said, compared to analysts’ estimates of an uptick of 1 million barrels.
Moreover, a disruption of Libyan exports with protests leading to a stoppage of crude shipments to an eastern port in Libya, Africa’s biggest holder of oil reserves fanned speculation of tighter fuel supplies.
Services activity in the US expanded at the fastest pace since November last month, signaling a pickup in the world’s biggest economy, lifting the demand outlook for the fuel.
The gauge measuring US services activity rose to 57.8 in April from 56.5 in March, with a reading above 50 signaling expansion.
Investors cast aside a report which showed a drop in US consumer sentiment in May and that the country’s trade gap widened to the highest level in more than six years in March.
The gauge measuring US consumer sentiment fell to 49.7 this month from 51.3 in April, TIPP said. The US trade deficit jumped 43.1 per cent to USD 51.4 billion in March 2015, the largest since October 2008.
Oil may retreat today as investors resort to profit-booking ahead of the weekly EIA supplies data.
At the MCX, Crude oil futures, for the May 2015 contract, closed at Rs 3,857 per barrel, up by 2.8 per cent, after opening at Rs 3,746, against the previous close price of Rs 3,752. It touched an intraday high of Rs 3,886 till the closing.
