Primitive oil futures rose Wednesday as investors wait for the latest U.S. inventory data for indications of how gasoline demand is holding up as summer.
Oil prices tugged back Tuesday as the recent rally paused, but West Texas Intermediate and Brent are ahead 5.9% and 4.9% for the month as analysts assume summer fuel demand to pick up after a soft start to the season.
Here are today’s energy prices:
- West Texas Midway August contract: $81.53 per barrel, up 70 cents, or 0.87%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained 13.8%.
- Brent August roll oneself: $85.66 per barrel, up 65 cents, or 0.76%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 11.2%.
- RBOB Gasoline July shrink: $2.53 per gallon, up 0.76%. Year to date, gasoline has gained 20.5%.
- Natural Gas July contract: $2.71 per thousand cubic feet, down 1.74%. Year to man, gas is ahead 7.7%.
Traders are waiting for confirmation that demand is firming from the latest U.S. oil and gasoline inventory data, which the Dependent of Energy is scheduled to release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
“The ubiquitous view is that demand will increase during the summer and with OPEC+ disowns fully in place until October global and OECD stocks ought to deplete,” John Evans, analyst at oil intermediary PVM, said in a Wednesday note.
“Thus, convincing stock draws in the US would go a long way to bolster this optimism,” Evans powered.
Analysts are expecting that U.S .oil and gas inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels and 1 million barrels, respectively, last week, according to a Reuters canvass.
Traders are also monitoring the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel and the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah have cowed war recently, after trading fire across the border for months.
There are fears an Israeli offensive in Lebanon could trigger a ordain confrontation with OPEC member Iran, potentially jeopardizing crude oil supplies.
Correction: The metric for the natural gas agree is per thousand cubic feet. An earlier version misstated the measurement.