Forexpros – Crude oil futures rose in Asian trading on Thursday after housing data surprised on the upside in the U.S., where strong durable goods orders also pointed to an economy that was recovering and in need of more fuels to grow.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD80.42 a barrel on Thursday, up 0.27%, off from a session high of USD80.56 and up from an earlier session low of USD80.38.
In the U.S., stronger-than-expected housing data sent oil prices rising on sentiment that despite European uncertainty crimping demand worldwide, the U.S. continues to recover.
The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales jumped 5.9% in May, far above market calls for a 1% gain and matching a two-year high hit in March.
Earlier this week, the Standard & Poor’s-Case-Shiller home price index fell at an annualized rate of 1.9% in April, better than expectations for a 2.5% drop.
Also in the U.S., orders for durable goods rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in May, outpacing market calls for a 0.4% gain.
However, core durable goods orders, which are stripped of transportation items, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in May, below market forecasts for a 0.7% gain.
Also in the U.S., the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 133,000 barrels in the week ending June 22, compared to expectations for a decline of 450,000 barrels.
U.S. crude supplies rose by 2.86 million barrels in the preceding week.
Overall, U.S. stockpiles remain plentiful.
U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 387.2 million barrels as of last week, just below the highest level since July 1990.
Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 2.1 million barrels, above expectations for a gain of 770,000 barrels, after rising by 943,000 barrels in the preceding week.
Ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fate of the European debt crisis tempered oil’s gains, especially ahead of a E.U. summit scheduled to open later Thursday.
Meanwhile an oil workers’ strike in Norway bolstered prices even more, Brent crude especially.
On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.01% and trading at USD93.72 a barrel, up USD13.30 from its U.S. counterpart.
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