WTI rises for second day

West Texas Intermediate rose for a second day on speculation government data will show crude stockpiles declined a sixth week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer, Bloomberg reported on January 8.

Futures climbed as much as 0.4 percent in New York. Crude inventories fell by 2.75 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report today. Supplies shrank by 7.31 million, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said yesterday. The coldest U.S. weather in almost 20 years also signaled fuel demand may gain.

WTI for February delivery advanced as much as 40 cents to $94.07 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $93.97 at 3 p.m. Singapore time. The contract rose 0.3 percent to $93.67 yesterday, snapping a five-day losing streak. The volume of all futures traded was about 55 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for February settlement climbed as much as 21 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $107.56 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a $13.45 premium to WTI. The spread closed at $13.44 yesterday, narrowing for the first time in six days.

Copyright: Bloomberg, 2014