Oil Steadies Near $57 a Barrel Before U.S. Crude Inventory Data

Futures were little changed after slipping 0.3 percent on Tuesday, the first decline in four sessions. Crude inventories fell by 1.56 million barrels last week, while motor-fuel stockpiles gained 520,000 barrels, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to report. A Bloomberg survey forecast a 2.45 million-barrel oil-supply drop ahead of government data Wednesday.

“The U.S. shale machine is poised to shift up a gear as producers make hay amid the healthier price backdrop,” said Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery slid 8 cents to $57.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:04 a.m. London time. Total volume traded was 12 percent below the 100-day average. Prices slipped from the highest level in more than two years to close at $57.20 on Tuesday.

Brent for January settlement rose 11 cents to $63.80 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, after falling 58 cents on Tuesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $6.47 to January WTI.

Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, expanded by 812,000 barrels last week, the API reported Tuesday, according to people familiar with the data. Unlike the API, Bloomberg’s survey forecast a decline in gasoline supplies of 1.85 million barrels.
more at:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-08/oil-falls-second-day-on-signs-of-smaller-u-s-stockpile-decline