SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) - Crude prices rose half a
percent on Wednesday, pulling away from one-month lows struck
in the previous session on forecasts of a second weekly fall in
U.S. inventories.
FUNDAMENTALS
* West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude on the New York
Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) advanced 39 cents to $72.37 a
barrel by 0012 GMT, after settling on Monday at the lowest
level since early June.
* U.S. crude stockpiles probably fell 2.6 million barrels
in the week to July 2, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday, as
imports may have dropped for a second straight week.
* Gasoline inventories were forecast down 300,000 barrels
on average, following a surprise modest build in the prior
week, the poll showed, while supplies of distillates, including
heating oil and diesel, likely posted their sixth straight
weekly increase, adding 1.5 million barrels. []
* The American Petroleum Institute will publish weekly
inventory data on Wednesday at 2030 GMT, followed by government
statistics from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on
Thursday at 1600 GMT. Both reports come a day later than usual
because of the public holiday on July 5.
* A weather system over Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and the
eastern Gulf of Mexico had a 30 percent chance of developing
over the next two days into a tropical cyclone, a category that
includes tropical storms and hurricanes, the U.S. National
Hurricane Center said late on Monday.
* The system's course so far has been similar to that of
Hurricane Alex, which in late June forced Mexican oil terminals
to shut and U.S. producers to curb output.
MARKETS NEWS
* ICE Brent crude for August <LCOc1> rose 44 cents to
$71.89 on Wednesday.
* World stocks posted their biggest one-day gain in nearly
a month on Tuesday after recent drubbings pushed shares to
attractive levels. []
Gains were tempered late in the U.S. trading day, however,
as a slowdown in growth in the U.S. service sector weighed on
sentiment. Worries over the possibility of a double-dip
recession, which have been dogging financial markets,
persisted.
* Japan's Nikkei average inched down 0.2 percent on
Wednesday as shares of exporters gave back some gains, but the
index remained above a seven-month low hit earlier this week.
* The euro hovered near seven-week highs on Wednesday while
the Australian dollar retained gains, as investors pared long
positions in the U.S. dollar on doubts about an U.S. economic
recovery. []
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday:
-Japan PAJ weekly oil inventories Jul 3 0300 GMT
-U.S. ICSC chain stores yy 2345 GMT
-U.S. API weekly crude stocks Jul 2 2030 GMT
RELATED NEWS
* Drilling of a relief well to halt the BP <BP.L><BP.N> oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a week ahead of schedule, the
U.S. official overseeing the response to the disaster said on
Tuesday. []
PRICES
Oil prices as of 0035 GMT
Contract Mnth Price Change Day ago pct MA-20*
NYMEX Contracts
US Crude AUG0 $72.31 +0.33 -$0.16 -0.22% $75.65
Heat Oil AUG0 192.56 +0.84 +0.17 +0.09% 204.29
RBOB AUG0 197.68 +0.55 -0.64 -0.32% 208.20
Natgas AUG0 $4.676 -0.006 -$0.005 -0.11% $4.820
ICE Contracts
Brent AUG0 $71.84 +0.39 -$0.02 -0.03% $75.65
Gasoil JUL0 -- +0.00 +$15.25 +2.51% $651.78
Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
* = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
