US WTI Light crude oil futures open Wednesday’s trading session back over $104 a barrel following news that the US API (American Petroleum Institute) reported a 9 million barrel drop in American crude supplies for the week ended July 5.
Latest WTI Oil Price
US Light crude oil futures for August 2013 delivery was trading at $104.32 a barrel, 07:30 GMT this morning in electronic trading on the NYMEX, which is a 14 month high. Following the API’s data, August 2013 WTI oil futures traded as high as $104.72, well above the $103.53 settlement on NYMEX.
The API data comes ahead of the more closely watched US EIA (Energy Information Administration) report due out later today.
“This is a big shock,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “While most were looking at another drawdown in supply, no one expected this drop.”
Oil traders guessed that a fund or another entity was betting on a large draw in crude supplies when inventory data was reported in the afternoon, making oil for the closer delivery months more valuable, hence the rise for oil prices at the same time as the US dollar carried on gaining strength on currency markets.
The US Dollar Index hit a fresh three year high against a basket of currencies this morning, trading near the 85 mark. A stronger US dollar tends to cap commodity prices including crude oil which are priced in the currency.
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WTI crude oil price breaks over $104 on poor weekly US API data
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