West Texas
Intermediate headed for the third weekly gain in four on speculation that
economic recovery in the
Futures
rose for a fifth day as
The Thomson
Reuters final index of
German
sales adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings climbed 0.8 percent in May
from April, according to the Federal Statistics Office in
WTI for
August delivery advanced 39 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.44 a barrel at 11:03
a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising to $97.82, the highest
intraday price since June 20. The volume of all futures traded was 4.2 percent
lower than the 100-day average for the time of day. Futures are up 4 percent this
week and little changed in the second quarter.
Brent for
August settlement rose 30 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $103.12 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 23 percent below the
100-day average. The European benchmark crude’s premium to WTI shrank to as
little as $5.50, the least since January 2011.