Oil Hovers Near 3-Year High as U.S. Stockpiles Forecast to Drop

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 0.4 percent on Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute estimates stocks fell by 5.12 million barrels last week, a steeper drop than the 3.15 million forecast in a Bloomberg survey before Energy Information Administration data due Thursday. OPEC’s outlook for rival supply expanded once again, the group said in its monthly report, becoming the latest agency to boost its estimates for American production.

Oil is extending its run after two consecutive annual gains as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia curb supplies. While the cuts are gradually shrinking a global surplus, OPEC said rising prices are boosting production in North America. The International Energy Agency, which releases its monthly report on Friday, may also increase its estimates for U.S. output, said Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“The market will want to see whether the EIA report can match the API’s crude draw and whether overall inventories are falling,” said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS Group AG. “After last week’s drop, the crude production data will be interesting too.”

U.S. gasoline inventories probably rose by 3.99 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. In the preceding week, total crude and product stockpiles fell to 1.2 billion barrels, the seventh drop in the last eight weeks, according to EIA data.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-18/oil-extends-gains-above-64-on-signs-u-s-stockpiles-declined