Brent Gains for First Time in Three Days on Ukraine; WTI Steady
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Brent crude rose for the first time
in three days amid speculation that escalating violence in
Ukraine may disrupt supplies to Europe from Russia, the world’s
largest energy exporter. West Texas Intermediate was steady.
Futures gained as much as 0.4 percent in London. Ukraine said it will press on with military operations against pro-Russian separatists after its forces retook Donetsk airport and inflicted “significant” losses on the rebels. U.S. crude stockpiles probably expanded by 250,000 barrels last week, rebounding from the biggest drawdown since January, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow.
“Investors have one eye on what’s happening in Ukraine,” said Jonathan Barratt, the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney. “If inventories decline again, the market will focus on it, regardless of ample supply.”
Brent for July settlement climbed as much as 38 cents to $110.40 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $110.30 at 1:15 p.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 30 cents to $110.02 yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 41 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have advanced 2.1 percent this month.
WTI for July delivery was 8 cents higher at $104.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. benchmark crude was at a discount of $6.11 to Brent. The spread closed at $5.91 yesterday, the narrowest in six weeks.
Troops killed “dozens” of fighters in Donetsk without suffering any losses, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said yesterday, while the mayor’s office in the eastern city said 40 people died and 31 were wounded.
In Libya, protesters shut a recently re-opened oil terminal to protest the appointment of Ahmed Maiteg as the new prime minister. Petroleum Facilities Guards members aligned with federalist rebels stopped loadings at Hariga port in the country’s east, Oil Ministry Director of Measurement Ibrahim Al Awami said by phone from Tripoli yesterday.
Gasoline supplies probably gained by 250,000 barrels last week, the survey shows. Distillates, including heating oil and diesel, are projected to have dropped by 200,000 barrels.
The EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, will release its weekly stockpile data at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Washington, a day later than usual because of the Memorial Day holiday. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to publish a separate report today.
WTI has technical resistance along its 30-day upper Bollinger Band, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Futures halted advances in early March and mid-April near this indicator, at about $105.25 a barrel today. Sell orders tend to be clustered around chart-resistance levels.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net Yee Kai Pin, Mike Anderson
Futures gained as much as 0.4 percent in London. Ukraine said it will press on with military operations against pro-Russian separatists after its forces retook Donetsk airport and inflicted “significant” losses on the rebels. U.S. crude stockpiles probably expanded by 250,000 barrels last week, rebounding from the biggest drawdown since January, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow.
“Investors have one eye on what’s happening in Ukraine,” said Jonathan Barratt, the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney. “If inventories decline again, the market will focus on it, regardless of ample supply.”
Brent for July settlement climbed as much as 38 cents to $110.40 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $110.30 at 1:15 p.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 30 cents to $110.02 yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 41 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have advanced 2.1 percent this month.
WTI for July delivery was 8 cents higher at $104.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. benchmark crude was at a discount of $6.11 to Brent. The spread closed at $5.91 yesterday, the narrowest in six weeks.
Ukraine Crisis
Brent is poised for a second monthly increase amid separatist violence in Ukraine that erupted after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March. Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko has vowed to wipe out the rebels after winning office on May 25. His nation is a conduit for Russian oil and natural gas supplies to Europe.Troops killed “dozens” of fighters in Donetsk without suffering any losses, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said yesterday, while the mayor’s office in the eastern city said 40 people died and 31 were wounded.
In Libya, protesters shut a recently re-opened oil terminal to protest the appointment of Ahmed Maiteg as the new prime minister. Petroleum Facilities Guards members aligned with federalist rebels stopped loadings at Hariga port in the country’s east, Oil Ministry Director of Measurement Ibrahim Al Awami said by phone from Tripoli yesterday.
Fuel Supplies
Crude inventories in the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer, probably rose to 391.5 million in the week ended May 23, according to the median estimate of eight analysts in the Bloomberg survey. Stockpiles expanded to 399.4 million through April 25, the highest level since the EIA began publishing weekly data in 1982.Gasoline supplies probably gained by 250,000 barrels last week, the survey shows. Distillates, including heating oil and diesel, are projected to have dropped by 200,000 barrels.
The EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, will release its weekly stockpile data at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Washington, a day later than usual because of the Memorial Day holiday. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to publish a separate report today.
WTI has technical resistance along its 30-day upper Bollinger Band, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Futures halted advances in early March and mid-April near this indicator, at about $105.25 a barrel today. Sell orders tend to be clustered around chart-resistance levels.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net Yee Kai Pin, Mike Anderson
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