Oil futures held gains mostly for the second day on Wednesday morning ahead of the US supply data and the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement.
Investors are bracing for fresh clues on US energy demand and Fed’s stimulus outlook amid expectations of rising crude inventories and a further cut in US central Bank stimulus. But uncertainty about the stimulus outlook had markets cautious betting that policymakers will end up curbing the bank’s monthly bond buying that has underpinned an economic recovery.
- US crude oil for March delivery rose 0.14% to $97.12 a barrel as of 02:39 a.m. EST.
- Brent crude oil was up 0.06% at $107.47 a barrel as of 02:37 a.m. EST
The crude inventory report from the US energy Information Administration (EIA) will be closely watched at 10:30 a.m. EST today.
Yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said crude oil inventories rose 4.8 billion barrels last week, which turned to be way to large than analysts has expected.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be concluding their two-day policy meeting, which is the Fed’s first meeting of the year and also the final one for the outgoing Ben S. Bernanke as chairman. The current Vice President Janet Yellen will be his successor and will take over as the first women to lead the world’s most powerful central bank on Jan. 1.
Taking a look at other oil futures trading:
- NYMEX Gasoline rose 0.91% to $263.69
- NYMEX Heat Oil rose 1.10% to $313.28
- ICE Gasoline rose 1.00% to $913.25