WTI oil price trading up near $72 on latest US data

US WTI oil prices hit $72 in trading on Thursday as the latest data showing a surge in US demand climbed almost seven percent over the past month the EIA said yesterday.

US Light crude oil futures for July rose to $71.89 a barrel midday Singapore time on the NYMEX.

Investors mulled data from the US Commerce Department which showed new homes sales rose a bigger than expected 14.8% in April to a seasonally adjusted rate of 504,000, up from 439,000 the month before.

The July contract for WTI oil futures received an additional bounce when the US Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories at Cushing, Okla. dropped by 300,000 barrels in the week ended May 21st 2010, the first drop at the storage hub since March.

Cushing is the delivery point for the physical barrels underpinning the NYMEX WTI oil contract, but inventories have begun to approach storage limits in recent weeks. As crude oil supplies hit record levels, traders became uncertain whether there would be space for more barrels, creating a strong incentive to sell futures contracts for next month delivery. Earlier this month, the now-expired June contracted traded at a $4.96 a barrel discount to July oil prices.