MW: Crude futures rise ahead of API supplies update
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose nearly 1% Tuesday, still receiving a lift from the shutdown of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and as investors expected data to show a drop in U.S. crude supplies.
Crude for February delivery (CLG11 90.04, +0.79, +0.89%) gained 86 cents to stand at $90.13 a barrel.
On Monday, the contract jumped 1.4% as energy companies engaged in oil production from Alaska’s North Slope stopped most of their output after a leak was discovered at a pumping station.
By now, the shutdown is the third longest in the 33-year history of the pipeline, which carries about 15% of U.S. domestic production, according to J.P. Morgan’s team of energy analysts.
“The consensus is that the pipeline will reopen by end-week, but caution is certainly in order,” the firm wrote in a note. “According to officials, as the oil still in the pipeline cools there are risks that ice could form and wax could build up, causing new ruptures.”
Any delay or complications would provide further support for crude prices, according to J.P. Morgan’s analysis.
Traders also took positions ahead of the American Petroleum Institute’s estimates of weekly U.S. crude supplies, due out after the close of trading. A report followed more closely by energy traders will be issued by the Energy Department on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts expect the data to show a drawdown in U.S. commercial crude stocks of about 300,000 barrels for the week ended Jan. 7.