WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. crude oil moved up for a third straight session to end at a more than three-week high Wednesday, as the situation in Ukraine continued to escalate after an ambush by pro-Russian separatists resulted in the death of at least seven Ukrainian soldiers. Concerns over likely supply disruptions from Russia and uncertainty about Libyan oil shipments also contributed to the rise.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration earlier Wednesday showed U.S. crude oil inventories to have risen 0.95 million barrels in the week ended May 9, while analysts expected a decline of 1.50 million barrels. Stockpiles aggregated 398.5 million barrels, up from the earlier week's total of 397.6 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks dropped by 0.77 million barrels last week, while analysts anticipated a decline of 1.0 million barrels. Inventories of distillate, including heating fuel, declined 1.1 million barrels, even as analysts anticipated an increase of 1.0 million barrels. The EIA report also showed a decline of about 0.60 million barrels at Cushing storage hub for the week.
Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.67 or 0.7 percent to close at $102.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
Crude prices for June delivery scaled a high of $102.65 a barrel intraday and a low of $101.83.
On Tuesday, crude oil futures ended higher amid concerns over the ongoing unrest in Ukraine and possible disruptions in oil supply from Russia and Libya.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.06 on Wednesday, down from its previous close of 80.12 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.13 intraday and a low of 79.99.
The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3708 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3703 late Tuesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3731 intraday and a low of $1.3698.
In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Labor Department showed producer prices to have risen by much more than anticipated 0.6 percent in April, following a 0.5 percent increase in March. Economists had been expecting producer prices to edge up by about 0.2 percent.
Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy, also showed continued growth, climbing by 0.5 percent in April after rising by 0.6 percent in March. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England on Wednesday settled market speculations over an early interest rate hike, indicating it was necessary to absorb the slack in the economy before tightening policy rates. The central bank in its May Inflation Report said policymakers see more scope to make greater inroads into slack before raising the interest rate.
The U.K. unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low in the first quarter, as economic recovery added more jobs and pay growth exceeded consumer price inflation. The ILO jobless rate declined to 6.8 percent during January to March, the lowest since February 2009, from 7.2 percent in October to December, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The rate came in line with expectations.
Eurozone industrial production dropped in March, driven by declines in the output of the big four countries, raising concerns over the strength of the economic recovery in the 18-nation economy. Production shrunk 0.3 percent in March following a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month. This was in line with economists' expectations.
All the big four economies registered declines in output during March, with production falling 0.2 percent in Germany and 0.7 percent in France. Output fell 0.6 percent in Spain and 0.5 percent in Italy.
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