RTTN: Crude Edges Up Near $85 Ahead Of EIA Inventories Data
(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil edged up Wednesday morning as traders await cues from the official inventories report from the EIA.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for March delivery were up $0.28 to $84.60 a barrel. Yesterday, oil dipped to its lowest level in three months amid demand growth worries.
Tuesday after the market hours, the API said U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 354,000 barrels and gasoline stocks added 1.23 million barrels in thew week ended February 11. Analysts were expecting crude oil inventories pile up by 2.60 million barrels and gasoline stocks to add by 1.7 million barrels last week.
Crude oil prices likely to trade with a positive bias as unrest in the Middle East region could spark supply worries, analysts opined.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts ahead of building permits and housing starts data from the U.S. The greenback was paring its prior session losses versus sterling, while trading flat against the euro, the yen and the Swiss Franc.
Today during trading hours, the EIA will release its weekly report on crude oil inventories. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to climb 2 million barrels and gasoline stocks to increase 1.85 million barrels last week.
Traders will look to the report on housing starts and building permits, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists estimate housing starts of 550,000 for January.
Simultaneously, the U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its report on the producer price index for January. Economists expect the headline index to rise by 0.7 percent and the core producer price index to show 0.2 percent growth.
