WTI oil price rises near $103 a barrel as US inventories disappoint

US WTI oil futures rose nearer $103 a barrel on Wednesday, pushed higher as US crude oil inventories disappointed traders, as figures showed weekly crude supplies rose less than the market expected, as reported by the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) this afternoon.

Latest WTI Oil Price

US Light crude oil futures for April 2014 delivery was trading at $102.76 a barrel, 16:49 GMT on the NYMEX, or 0.8 percent higher on the day. Meanwhile, WTI crude’s discount to Brent oil prices narrowed to as little as $6.72, the first time it has been below $7 a barrel since early October.

The US EIA said this afternoon in their weekly report that US crude oil stockpiles rose by 100,000 barrels for the week ended 21st February. Analysts polled by Platts were looking for a climb of a much larger 1.5 million barrels.

“The market’s seeing a move to the upside on prices but as it approaches $103, it’s experiencing a pause,” said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors. “We wouldn’t be surprised to see crude test those levels again today, but do feel the rally will be short lived.”

Cushing and Crude Oil

Crude stocks at Cushing, delivery point of the benchmark US Light crude oil contract, have fallen by more than 12 percent since early January to less than 35 million barrels, following the start up of TransCanada’s major Gulf Coast pipeline, the southern leg of Keystone.

“The impact of the Keystone pipelines is on full display now,” said John Kilduff a partner at Again Capital, LLC in New York.

Here is the original:
WTI oil price rises near $103 a barrel as US inventories disappoint