Crude pulls back on rising US petrol and distillate stockpiles
US crude stockpiles draw more than expected and its petrol stockpiles build unexpectedly; Opec expects oil demand to hit 100-million bpd this year
New York — Crude futures reversed course, moving sharply lower on Thursday after US data showed petrol inventories rose unexpectedly last week, overshadowing a bullish drawdown in crude. US crude inventories fell more than expected last week as refining runs increased, while petrol and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday. "The headline crude number has been offset by the products," said Bill Baruch, president of Blue Line Futures in Chicago. "This is not a fundamentally bullish report." US crude traded down $1.00 at $67.72 a barrel by 3.29pm GMT. Global benchmark Brent traded 85c lower at $76.41 a barrel. Earlier in the session, both contracts had traded higher, encouraged by a weaker dollar and evidence of strong US fuel demand. Emerging-market stocks, bonds and currencies have plunged in recent weeks in response to financial crises in the likes of Turkey, SA and Venezuela. "In the last week we’ve seen the focus shift again from...
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