US crude oil inventories drop, send prices higher

Crude oil prices were substantially higher Thursday on new data showing that US crude oil stockpiles were slightly lower last week.

The US Energy Information Administration said that US crude inventories dropped by 200,000 barrels in the week ending 13 February, while gasoline stockpiles added 1.1 million barrels last week even though demand is now rising slightly after having dropped consistently in the past few months.

Analysts had expected that crude oil stockpiles would rise and that gasoline inventories would decline.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude, which expire Friday, added $4.69 to $39.31 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the latest report shows that Brent crude for March delivery added $1.94 to $41.49 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex March gasoline futures were 5 cents lower to $1.07 per gallon in afternoon trade, while April heating oil added 3 cents to $1.18 per gallon.

Natural gas futures for March fell 15.4 cents to $4.06 per million British thermal units even though the EIA reported that inventories were down 24 billion cubic feet last week to 2 trillion cubic feet.

May contracts for copper added 3 cents to $1.49 per pound in New York and three-month copper was up $107 to $3,342 per tonne, or $1.42 per pound, on the London Metal Exchange despite a gain of 2,950 tonnes in LME inventories on the session.

April gold was $1.70 lower to $976.50 per troy ounce in New York as a new report said that demand for gold as an investment has overtaken demand for the precious metal for jewelry, which is down 11 percent this year.

March silver was up 36 cents to $13.94 per troy ounce, while April platinum dropped $22.40 but remained above the $1,000 level at $1,072 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade as March wheat added 8 cents to $5.19 per bushel and March corn was up 4 cents to $3.53 per bushel but March soybeans dropped 3 cents to $8.84 per bushel.

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