Futures in New York rose as much as 0.6 percent after adding 2.5 percent in the past three sessions. An industry report showed U.S. inventories fell last week, with government data Wednesday forecast to show a fourth straight drop. Crude’s recent gains have been driven by fighting between the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Kirkuk region, which could stoke tensions beyond the country’s borders.
Iraq is just one of the oil market’s geopolitical risks, with uncertainty also growing over tensions between Iran and the U.S., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Tuesday. The Persian Gulf nation said it would support an extension of OPEC output cuts to the end of 2018 and insisted its production plans won’t be disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s disavowal of the nuclear deal that’s boosted its exports.
West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery rose as much as 29 cents to $52.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was trading at $52.06 as of 11:52 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was about 41 percent below the 100-day average. Prices on Tuesday added 1 cent to close at $51.88, the highest since Sept. 27.
Brent for December settlement rose as much as 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $58.44 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.99 to WTI for December.
U.S. inventories fell by 7.13 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Data from the Energy Information Administration Wednesday is forecast to show a 3.25 million-barrel slide.
While Iraq’s government is clashing with Kurdish forces in the north of the OPEC nation, raising the prospect of output disruptions in the region, both sides have an incentive to keep oil flowing due to low production costs and “high revenue” available per barrel, according to Goldman Sachs.
more detail at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-18/oil-extends-gains-as-industry-data-signals-u-s-stockpile-draw