Oil traded near a four-day high, erasing today’s losses, as a cold spell in the U.S. boosted optimism heating fuel demand will increase.
Heating oil futures were near a two-day high after forecasts that colder-than-normal weather is likely in parts of the Midwest, Southeast and mid-Atlantic through Dec. 27. Crude also rose as China kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, increasing confidence among investors that the nation will maintain demand for commodities.
“A weaker dollar and stronger equities helped to buoy WTI and China keeping its interest rates flat did not hurt either,” Stephen Schork, president of Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania, said in a note to clients.
The January contract was at $88.74 a barrel, up 13 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:42 p.m. Singapore time. Prices have risen 12 percent this year.
Florida declared a state of emergency amid severe cold that could damage crops, and a snowstorm battered the Midwest. U.S. gasoline inventories probably increased for a fourth week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow.
U.S. Stockpiles
U.S. crude stockpiles probably dropped to the lowest since July 9, according to the median of 11 analysts’ estimates before tomorrow’s energy report.
Oil inventories fell 2.6 million barrels in the seven days to Dec. 10, the survey showed. Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably slipped 1 million barrels from 160.2 million.
The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 15 in Washington. The industry- funded American Petroleum Institute will publish its own estimates today.
The dollar traded near a one-week low against the yen amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will signal it’s open to increasing debt purchases beyond the $600 billion already announced. The Fed’s policy makers are scheduled to meet today.
“Ultimately a weaker dollar is generally supportive of commodities because it makes it cheaper for places like China,” said Mark Keenan, chief investment officer at Cubit Asset Management Pte in Singapore. “With the government trying to rein in activity in China, maybe that effect will be a little muted this time.”
Crude prices may rise above $100 a barrel by the second half of next year as U.S. demand recovers and global inventories decline, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in its 2011 commodities outlook, dated yesterday.
Brent crude for January settlement was at $91.35 a barrel, up 16 cents, on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
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