Forexpros – Crude oil futures advanced on Thursday as investors snapped up nicely priced positions in wake of a selloff stemming from reports of higher-than-expected inventories in the United States.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at USD101.25 a barrel in Asian trading, up 0.38%.
The commodity spiked to an earlier session high of USD101.40 and a low of USD100.91.
The U.S Energy Information Administration reported that crude stocks jumped 5 million barrels in the week to Jan. 6, while gasoline inventories rose 3.6 million barrels, both figures outpacing expectations.
Reports that supplies surged in the U.S. market brought in the bears, although ongoing tensions in the Middle East and constant threats of supply cuts there didn’t allow the selloff to last for too long.
In Iran, assassins killed a top nuclear scientist, which prompted Tehran to blame Israel and the United States.
Ongoing uprisings in Syria and strikes in Nigeria supported commodity prices as well.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer at 1.9 million barrels per day.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery were up 0.12% and trading at USD112.74 a barrel, up USD11.49 from its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers on the higher end between a nearly USD20.00 all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.
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