Oil Holds Steady After Inventory Data

Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures sat flat during electronic trading early Thursday, getting only the slightest of boosts from data showing lower-than-expected crude inventories.

Crude oil for December delivery  rose 1 cent, or less than 0.1%, to $86.33 a barrel on Globex during Asia trading hours.

The slight increase extended a 94-cent jump for the contract to settle at $86.32 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

After Wednesday’s settlement, the American Petroleum Institute said that crude-oil supplies rose a less-than-expected 1.35 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 9.

The more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report was due out later Thursday, with a Platts survey tipping expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel increase in crude-oil stocks.

GFT technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada said crude-oil contracts have recently been supported by a weaker dollar and geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.

“The fact that [crude oil] has managed to hold above $85 for a number of sessions now is technically bullish,” said Razaqzada.

The dollar made slight gains during Asian hours Thursday, with ICE dollar index  inching higher to 81.192 from 81.111 in late North American trade Wednesday.

Among other energy products Thursday, heating-oil for December delivery rose 0.2% to $2.99 a gallon, and gasoline for delivery in the same month  increased 0.7% to $2.70 a gallon.

Natural-gas futures for December   rose 0.3% to $3.77 per million British thermal units.

Marketwatch