Business | Oil & Gas
Oil rises towards $65 after four days of losses
Oil rose toward $65 a barrel on Tuesday after a four-day losing streak and as US crude inventories were expected to fall for the fifth week in a row.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:42 July 7, 2009
London: Oil rose toward $65 a barrel on Tuesday after a four-day losing streak and as US crude inventories were expected to fall for the fifth week in a row.
US crude futures rose 39 cents to $64.44 a barrel by 1201 GMT, having settled down four per cent on Monday at $64.05, its lowest settlement in more than a month.
London Brent crude was up 35 cents at $64.40.
Oil prices have fallen seven per cent in July and Mike Wittner, Societe Generale's global head of oil research, said some investors were trying to take advantage of the sharp falls in the previous four sessions.
"It is not going to continue lower in a straight line. We will see more of bargain hunting by investors," Wittner said.
He said the market focus would shift to a spate of statistics to be released throughout this week and next, including American Petroleum Institute (API), US Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency.
Industry group API was to release its weekly crude and products stocks data yesterday.
Analysts polled by Reuters forecast data will show a 2.2 million barrel fall in crude oil inventories, making a fall for the fifth week.
Gasoline and middle distillate inventories were forecast for increases of 800,000 barrels and 1.7 million barrels, respectively.
The EIA was to release its monthly report later yesterday and weekly statistics on Wednesday.
In June, it raised its forecast for 2009 world demand by 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 83.68 million bpd, the first time since September that it had increased the demand estimate in its rolling monthly forecast.
Oil prices have risen from below $33 levels in December last yeary.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said earlier yesterday it had raised its oil price forecasts for 2009 to $59 a barrel for Brent and to $58.50 for US crude, up from forecasts of $52 for both benchmarks.
"Our price revisions come on the back of a weaker US dollar, a significant improvement in liquidity conditions for the global economy, and a slightly tighter-than-expected global oil market balance," the bank said.
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