Oil Futures Seesaw; U.S. Inventories May Decline

U.S. crude-oil futures wobbled between small losses and gains Tuesday, with the moves coming before data expected to show a drawdown in weekly oil inventories.

Crude oil for June delivery  was up 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $96.87 a barrel in electronic trade, flipping from a loss of 7 cents a barrel earlier in the day.

Oil prices on Monday had risen 69 cents, or 0.7%, to $96.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, helped in part by weakness in the U.S. dollar  , marking its fourth straight win.

Traders later Tuesday and on Wednesday will assess separate oil-supply updates. Total oil supplies are now near their highest weekly level in at least 30 years, according to Energy Information Administration data that go back to August 1982.

But analysts polled by Platts expect to see a decline in U.S. crude-oil stocks of 1.2 million barrels for the week ended May 17 because of further increases in refinery utilization.

“U.S. crude stocks typically begin a long spring/summer drawdown period in mid-May as U.S. refineries continue to return from maintenance, increasing demand for crude oil as utilization rates ramp up across the country,” Platts said in a statement.

The American Petroleum Institute’s report is scheduled for release at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. The EIA’s report is due Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

The Platts-polled analysts are also looking for a reduction of 200,000 barrels in gasoline stocks, but a 1.1 million-barrel rise in distillate stocks.

Investors appeared to see positive signs for the outlook of energy demand on Friday after a consumer-sentiment gauge rose to its highest level in nearly six years.

On Tuesday, Brent crude oil for July delivery  rose 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $104.93 a barrel.

Meanwhile, June gasoline  was unchanged at $2.91 a gallon, and June heating oil   rose 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $2.96 a gallon.

Natural gas for June delivery  gained 2 cents, or 0.4%, to $4.11 per million British thermal units.

Marketwatch