EIA inventories up 5.6 million barrels; crude prices mixed

Crude oil prices were mixed Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported that US crude oil inventories were up by 5.6 million barrels last week, much more of a gain than had been anticipated at a time when fuel demand declined by 5.2 percent over the past four weeks compared to the same period last year.

Gasoline stockpiles were down by 900,000 barrels last week, while distillates in storage dropped by 1.2 million barrels as refineries worked at only 80.4 percent of capacity, 1.5 percent lower than the week before.

May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were 16 cents lower to $49.25 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading at nearly $51 per barrel before the EIA report was released, while Brent crude added 22 cents to $52.18 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex May gasoline futures were up less a cent to $1.46 per gallon while May heating oil added just over a cent to $1.42 per gallon.

The price of copper was up in afternoon trade in New York Wednesday, adding 8 cents to $2.21 per pound not long before the close of floor trade, while three-month copper added $112 to $4,811 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange after LME inventories fell 2.4 percent, their biggest one-day slide in almost six months.

Precious metals were up as well, with gold seeing gains at the end of floor trade in New York after a day of prices changes that matched an up-and-down day for US equities markets.

June gold was up $1.50 to $893.50 per troy ounce while May silver added 4 cents to $12.80 per troy ounce and July platinum gained $6.70 to $1,225 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were lower on the Chicago Board of Trade, where May soybeans were 1 cent lower to $10.35 per bushel, May wheat fell 7 cents to $5.15 per bushel and May corn dropped 9 cents to $3.84 per bushel.

Story link: EIA inventories up 5.6 million barrels; crude prices mixed