Oil edges up ahead of inventory news (2小时前消息)

Oil edges up ahead of inventory news (2小时前消息)


On Tuesday, prices leaped US$2.48, or 4.7 per cent, to settle at US$55.04 after the U.S. government announced plans to boost the United States' emergency crude stockpile this spring at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day.

The Department of Energy said it plans to increase the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 1.5 billion barrels from 691 million barrels. The announcement raised the prospect of increased demand.

Traders were awaiting the release of weekly petroleum inventory figures from the Department of Energy later Wednesday. According to the average forecast of 10 analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires, U.S. crude oil stocks may have risen by 1.1 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories on average are expected to have increased by 1.1 million barrels, and distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil and diesel, are expected to fall by about 700,000 barrels.

"Any unexpected gain in stocks may trigger a large selloff," said Koichi Murakami, an analyst with brokerage Daiichi Shohin in Tokyo.

Last week, figures showed the biggest increase in crude inventories in more than four years, which suggests energy prices may have further to fall despite Monday's initial bounce. It said crude oil stockpiles rose by 6.8 million barrels to 321.5 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 12.

Growing crude inventories and unusually warm weather in the United States dragged oil prices below US$50 a barrel last week for the first time since May 2005. But prices rallied Monday following a weekend storm, and seasonal temperatures persisted Tuesday as a cold front moved into the north-central U.S.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures dropped 0.58 cent to US$1.5705 a gallon, while natural gas fell 5.1 cents to US$7.546 per 1,000 cubic feet.