NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures were little
changed on Wednesday after weekly industry inventory data
showed a small drawdown in domestic crude stocks, defying
forecasts that supplies rose last week.
Heating oil futures trimmed gains after the American Petroleum Institute's data showed that distillates, including heating oil stocks, gained, dashing forecasts for a drawdown.
Gasoline futures also pared gains as the API reported that gasoline stocks rose, just below expectations.
The API said that for the week to Feb. 12, crude stocks fell 63,000 barrels, distillate stocks gained 1.3 million barrels and gasoline stocks rose 1.4 million barrels.
'The API data showed crude imports were down a lot and crude runs were up, resulting in a crude stock drawdown,' said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
'Distillates stocks .... were up instead of down as many had expected, and that may have been due to temperatures not really being cold enough to raise demand. It looked like the expectation of higher oil demand was overplayed,' he added.
Earlier, crude futures ended higher for the second day in a row, helped by positive economic data, but gains were limited by caution ahead of weekly inventory reports.
Trading was choppy and front-month crude ended well off the day's high as traders saw the dollar bounce on improved data on U.S. housing and industrial output.
The dollar rallied against the euro, lifted by the U.S. economic data and as worries about Greece's fiscal health weighed on the euro.
Stronger-than-expected corporate results and upbeat economic data drove U.S. stocks higher.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Thursday at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT). This week's reports have been delayed a day due to Monday's federal holiday.
A Reuters poll on Wednesday forecast crude oil inventories rose 2.2 million barrels last week and gasoline stocks increased 1.5 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell 1.5 million barrels, the poll showed.
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude last traded up 36 cents, or 0.47 percent, at $77.37 a barrel in the after-market. It had settled earlier up 32 cents, or 0.42 percent, at $77.33, trading from $76.53 to $77.82.
* NYMEX March crude volume was relatively light, at 253,594 contracts, according to Reuters data.
* In London, April Brent crude was up 57 cents, or 0.75 percent, at $76.25 a barrel. It had settled up 59 cents, or 0.78 percent, at $76.27, trading from $75.40 to $76.48.
* NYMEX March RBOB was up 1.68 cents, or 0.84 percent, at $2.0050 a gallon. It had settled up 1.89 cents, or 0.95 percent, at $2.0071, trading from $1.9851 to $2.0103.
* NYMEX March heating oil was up 0.87 cent, or 0.44 percent, at $2.0050 a gallon. It had settled up 1.04 cents, or 0.52 percent, at $2.0067, trading from $1.9870 to $2.0125.
* The March/March heating oil crack spread ended at $6.95, rising from $6.83 on Tuesday. The March/March RBOB crack spread ended at $6.97, up from $6.49 on Tuesday.
* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract ended at $11.46, narrowing from $11.87 on Tuesday. The March 2015 contract
settled Wednesday at $88.79, down 9 cents, or 0.1 percent.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $74.23/$74.59
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $76.00/$78.04
NYMEX heating oil: $1.9878/$2.03
NYMEX RBOB: $1.9474/$2.00
For a full report on technicals, click on
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. retail gasoline demand fell 2.5 percent last week, to 8.844 million barrels per day, from a week ago, according to a MasterCard SpendingPulse report.
* U.S. housing starts rose to a six-month high in January and industrial output increased solidly.
* A production problem has curbed output at the North Sea Buzzard oilfield, Nexen Inc said.
(Reporting by Gene Ramos, Robert Gibbons and Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Keywords: MARKETS ENERGY NYMEX (gene.ramos@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6054; Reuters Messaging: gene.ramos.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Heating oil futures trimmed gains after the American Petroleum Institute's data showed that distillates, including heating oil stocks, gained, dashing forecasts for a drawdown.
Gasoline futures also pared gains as the API reported that gasoline stocks rose, just below expectations.
The API said that for the week to Feb. 12, crude stocks fell 63,000 barrels, distillate stocks gained 1.3 million barrels and gasoline stocks rose 1.4 million barrels.
'The API data showed crude imports were down a lot and crude runs were up, resulting in a crude stock drawdown,' said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
'Distillates stocks .... were up instead of down as many had expected, and that may have been due to temperatures not really being cold enough to raise demand. It looked like the expectation of higher oil demand was overplayed,' he added.
Earlier, crude futures ended higher for the second day in a row, helped by positive economic data, but gains were limited by caution ahead of weekly inventory reports.
Trading was choppy and front-month crude ended well off the day's high as traders saw the dollar bounce on improved data on U.S. housing and industrial output.
The dollar rallied against the euro, lifted by the U.S. economic data and as worries about Greece's fiscal health weighed on the euro.
Stronger-than-expected corporate results and upbeat economic data drove U.S. stocks higher.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Thursday at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT). This week's reports have been delayed a day due to Monday's federal holiday.
A Reuters poll on Wednesday forecast crude oil inventories rose 2.2 million barrels last week and gasoline stocks increased 1.5 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell 1.5 million barrels, the poll showed.
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude last traded up 36 cents, or 0.47 percent, at $77.37 a barrel in the after-market. It had settled earlier up 32 cents, or 0.42 percent, at $77.33, trading from $76.53 to $77.82.
* NYMEX March crude volume was relatively light, at 253,594 contracts, according to Reuters data.
* In London, April Brent crude was up 57 cents, or 0.75 percent, at $76.25 a barrel. It had settled up 59 cents, or 0.78 percent, at $76.27, trading from $75.40 to $76.48.
* NYMEX March RBOB was up 1.68 cents, or 0.84 percent, at $2.0050 a gallon. It had settled up 1.89 cents, or 0.95 percent, at $2.0071, trading from $1.9851 to $2.0103.
* NYMEX March heating oil was up 0.87 cent, or 0.44 percent, at $2.0050 a gallon. It had settled up 1.04 cents, or 0.52 percent, at $2.0067, trading from $1.9870 to $2.0125.
* The March/March heating oil crack spread ended at $6.95, rising from $6.83 on Tuesday. The March/March RBOB crack spread ended at $6.97, up from $6.49 on Tuesday.
* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract ended at $11.46, narrowing from $11.87 on Tuesday. The March 2015 contract
settled Wednesday at $88.79, down 9 cents, or 0.1 percent.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $74.23/$74.59
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $76.00/$78.04
NYMEX heating oil: $1.9878/$2.03
NYMEX RBOB: $1.9474/$2.00
For a full report on technicals, click on
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. retail gasoline demand fell 2.5 percent last week, to 8.844 million barrels per day, from a week ago, according to a MasterCard SpendingPulse report.
* U.S. housing starts rose to a six-month high in January and industrial output increased solidly.
* A production problem has curbed output at the North Sea Buzzard oilfield, Nexen Inc said.
(Reporting by Gene Ramos, Robert Gibbons and Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Keywords: MARKETS ENERGY NYMEX (gene.ramos@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6054; Reuters Messaging: gene.ramos.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.