On Wednesday crude ended higher as promising U.S. economic data provided enough support to send oil prices higher, WTI above 80 $/b after more than a week of failed attempts even if a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. oil inventories tempered gains.
U.S. crude stocks rose 4.1mln.b last week, well above the consensus forecast for an increase of 1.4mln.b. Also petrol inventories rose 700 kb, marginally higher than the consensus forecast for an increase of 600 kb. Distillate stocks, including heating oil, fell by 900 kb, matching the consensus forecast following recent heavy snow in north-eastern America.
The top U.S. futures regulator will no longer turn a blind eye to companies that defy investment limits imposed on their positions, as evidenced by a rare fine slapped on a firm last week. The position limit fine levied by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes as its chairman, Gary Gensler, moves to prevent market concentration through new position limits on energy futures -- and examines whether to do the same for metals.
Japan's commercial crude inventories fell for a sixth straight week last week to hit a three-month low, while kerosene stocks tumbled 7.6 percent from the week before due in part to lower output, industry data showed.
Saudi Arabia cut the official selling price of most of its crude grades in April to customers in Asia and raised most prices to the United States, the state oil company said. Saudi Arabia cut the price of Arab Light crude to Asia by 30 USc to the Oman/Dubai average minus 45 USc/b, Aramco said. On the contrary the price of Arab Light to the U.S. was increased by 15 USc to Argus Sour Crude Index minus 60 USc. The lower prices to Asia, source of about half of this year's predicted global growth in oil demand, were in line with expectations due to competition from Russia's export blend and falling profit margins for fuel oil.
Sinopec Corp. plans to raise retail sales of refined oil products this year by 6 %, recovering most of the declines in 2009, a report by a company showed. Moreover, retail sales of refined fuel by the top refiner in Asia declined 6.18 % last year.
The massive Venezuelan-run Isla refinery on the Caribbean island of Curacao remained shut on Tuesday due to a strike and power supply problems, in the latest hitch for a worldwide refining network run by Venezuela's state-run oil company. The 320 kb/d Isla refinery, leased and operated by Venezuela's PDVSA, has been closed since early Monday following a power cut. Attempts to restart the plant on Monday failed, the leader of the worker union at the refinery told.
"For sale" signs have gone up on six European oil refineries, with prices lower than the last wave of sales, but only top of the range properties are likely to find buyers. The latest is Total's 42-year old Lindsey plant in Britain, on the block after refining margins have struggled around record low levels over the past year. Europe's fuel demand is widely reckoned to have peaked.
Russia's average crude production rose to 10.mln.b/d in February, up 3.6% y/y setting a new post-Soviet era record high, according to preliminary data.
Chile's top oil refinery, damaged by a devastating earthquake, could be shut down for a month, which would boost the need for fuel imports to the country.
