West
Texas Intermediate and Brent oil rose after the U.S. and European Union added
to sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
WTI
climbed as much as 1.3 percent. The U.S. put seven more people on its sanctions
list yesterday, including the head of OAO Rosneft, the state-run Russian oil
company. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI,
fell in 11 of the 12 weeks ended April 18, according to the Energy Information
Administration. Data tomorrow will probably show nationwide crude supplies
gained 1.1 million barrels to 398.8 million, based on the median response in a
Bloomberg survey.
“We’re
up on two factors today, the continuing crisis in Ukraine and speculation about
the U.S. storage numbers,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at
Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. “The focus of the market switches from
the Cushing number to the national total. Cushing supplies are at the lowest
level since 2009 already while total U.S. supply is approaching a massive 400
million barrels.”
WTI for
June delivery advanced $1.11, or 1.1 percent, to $101.95 a barrel a 9:58 a.m.
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading was 5.3 percent above the 100-day
average for the time of day.
Brent
for June settlement climbed $1.02, or 0.9 percent, to $109.14 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Trading was 2.7 percent above
average. The European benchmark traded at a $7.19 premium to WTI, compared with
$7.28 yesterday.
