Oil Trades Near One-Week High as U.S. Stockpiles Counter Europe Concern By Ben Sharples - Feb 8, 2012

Oil traded near the highest price in more than a week after U.S. crude stockpiles increased less than forecast, countering concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen as Greece struggles to agree on terms for a bailout.

Futures were little changed after advancing for a second day yesterday. Crude inventories rose 304,000 barrels last week, according to the Department of Energy, compared with an estimated 2.5 million barrel gain in a Bloomberg News survey. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos summoned the country’s international lenders for further discussions today after failing to get full agreement from his coalition supporters on economic measures needed for a second aid package.

“Demand, particularly in the U.S., is still there,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity markets newsletter in Sydney. “We’ve been side-swiped by Europe in terms of its slowdown.”

Oil for March delivery was at $98.74 a barrel, up 3 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:03 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday increased 30 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $98.71, the highest settlement since Jan. 30. Prices are 14 percent higher the past year.

Brent oil for March settlement rose 32 cents to $117.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate widened for a second day to $18.78, compared with a record $27.88 on Oct. 14.
Refinery Utilization

U.S. refineries operated at 82.8 percent of capacity last week, up 1 percentage point from the week before, and gasoline production climbed 0.7 percent to 8.63 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Department report yesterday.

Gasoline prices surged to the highest level in more than five months on speculation that refinery shutdowns in Europe and the U.S. will trigger a supply crunch. Gasoline for March delivery climbed 0.61 cents to $2.9813 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. It rose 4.77 cents to $2.9752 a gallon yesterday, the highest settlement since Aug. 31 and the largest gain since Jan. 27.

Imports of the motor fuel dropped 32 percent last week, according to the Energy Department. Stockpiles rose 1.6 million barrels, compared with a forecast for an 875,000 barrel gain. Distillate inventories, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, increased 1.2 million barrels, compared with a projection for an 875,000 barrel decline.

Greece’s government is struggling to arrange financing to meet a 14.5 billion-euro ($19.2 billion) bond payment on March 20, risking a collapse of the economy and a new round of contagion in the euro area. Political leaders have agreed on all the measures needed for a second international aid package except cuts to pensions, Panos Beglitis, a spokesman for the Pasok socialist party, told reporters in Athens.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in Singapore at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
®2012 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.