Oil Trades Little Changed Ahead of U.S. Crude Inventories Data

August 05 Oil traded little changed ahead of official figures expected to show U.S. crude inventories rose and as the dollar gained against the euro, reducing the investment appeal of dollar-denominated commodities.
An Energy Department report today will probably show U.S. crude stockpiles increased 600,000 barrels, according to analysts surveyed by forex news-4all.blogspot.com, in contrast to the 1.52 million barrel decline reported yesterday by the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute. Crude had risen as much as 0.6 percent after the API data, which has moved in the same direction as the government figures 76 percent of the time over the past four years, Bloomberg data show.
“The last few weeks, the API report was not in agreement with the DOE report, and there is some caution in the market on it,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultant Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore.
Crude oil for September delivery traded at $71.28 a barrel, down 14 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:21 p.m. in Singapore. Earlier, it rose 45 cents to $71.87 a barrel. Yesterday, oil dropped 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $71.42 a barrel.
The dollar rose to $1.4395 per euro at 1:17 p.m. in Singapore from $1.4408 in New York yesterday. The U.S. currency declined to $1.4445 on Aug. 3, the lowest since Dec. 18.
Gasoline Supplies
U.S. gasoline inventories increased 2.1 million barrels to 215.7 million in the week ended July 31, the API report showed. The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines.
“The API numbers seemed to provide a little bit of mild strength to prices,” Toby Hassall, a research analyst at Commodity Warrants Australia Pty in Sydney, said by phone. “This rally has been sentiment driven and it is largely dependent on equities maintaining momentum if oil is going to make new highs for 2009.”
The Energy Department is scheduled to release its report on crude stockpiles for the week ended July 31 at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
Gasoline for September delivery fell 1.02 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.0465 a gallon in New York at 1:19 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, it declined 1.26 cents, or 0.6 percent, to end at $2.0567.
Brent crude oil for September settlement was trading at $74.35 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange at 1:22 p.m. in Singapore, having earlier risen as much as 53 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $74.81. Yesterday, the contract rose 73 cents, or 1 percent, to $74.28.