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Forexpros – Crude oil futures moved higher in Asian trade Thursday, following an unexpected rise in U.S. stockpiles coupled with hopes for progress among European leaders to comprehensively tackle the region’s debt threat
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for December delivery traded at USD91.17 a barrel during early Asian trade, gaining 1.09%, after hitting a daily low of USD90.72.
Earlier Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories rose by 4.7 million barrels for the week ending October 21, after falling by 4.7 million barrels the previous week.
Market expectation were for crude stockpiles in the U.S. to rise by 0.8 million barrels for the week.
Total crude oil inventories stood at 337.6 million barrels as of last week, while total gasoline inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels, outstripping expectations of a 1.0 million barrel decline.
Meanwhile, market players continued to monitor talks in Belgium between European leaders hoping for a break-through in talks aimed at conquering the region’s debt woes.
At a summit of European leaders in Brussels, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that finance ministers would finalize workings of a bank recapitalization plan outlined earlier Wednesday.
EU leaders had discussed a number of options, according to reports, to expand the power and reach of the USD612 billion European Financial Stability Facility, a rescue fund for debt threatened nations in the euro-zone.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was reportedly hoping to enlist the support of China who would contribute to the fund by purchasing bonds issued by the EFSF.
European officials have set their sights on an expansion to the fund totaling USD1.38 trillion, according to reports.
In a late report, European banks were to be pressed to raise USD147 billion by next June in order to comply with capital requirements agreed to by European leaders in Brussels.
Separately, the Census Bureau announced Wednesday that core durable goods orders advanced by 1.7% in September, outstripping economist forecasts of a 0.5% increase. Durable goods orders, including transportation items, fell by 0.8% in September, the second straight monthly drop.
A falling U.S. dollar helped to provide downside support for oil futures, as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, lost 0.07% to 76.39.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for November delivery advanced 0.38% to trade at USD109.60.
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