Investing.com – Crude oil futures were steady on Wednesday, hovering close to the previous day’s four-week high as investors wait for clarity on Europe's plans to tackle the debt crisis at this weekend's European Union summit.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD88.48 a barrel during European morning trade, gaining 0.33%.
The November crude contract is due to expire at the end of trading on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the more actively traded contract for December delivery traded at USD88.63 a barrel, easing up 0.11%. It earlier rose by as much as 0.22% to trade at USD88.86 a barrel.
Contract expiration often leads to volatile sessions as market participants look to close out positions or reposition their portfolios.
Investors focus remained on developments over a plan to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis after the Guardian newspaper reported late Tuesday that France and Germany had agreed to add EUR2 trillion to the European Financial Stability Facility, citing unidentified European Union diplomats. However, the report was subsequently denied by EU officials.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody’s cut Spain’s credit rating by two notches late Tuesday to A1 from Aa2, citing high levels of debt in the banking and corporate sectors.
Crude prices found support after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said after markets closed Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.13 million barrels last week, while total gasoline supplies dropped by 1.64 million barrels.
Later in the day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration was to release its closely-watched report on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The data was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.8 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to fall by 1.0 million barrels.
Crude prices rallied 2.3% on Tuesday to hit a four-week high of USD89.22 a barrel after Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs said it saw “upside risk” to oil prices, citing declining crude supplies and steady demand from emerging markets.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery added 0.19% to trade at USD111.36 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD22.73 a barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD88.48 a barrel during European morning trade, gaining 0.33%.
The November crude contract is due to expire at the end of trading on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the more actively traded contract for December delivery traded at USD88.63 a barrel, easing up 0.11%. It earlier rose by as much as 0.22% to trade at USD88.86 a barrel.
Contract expiration often leads to volatile sessions as market participants look to close out positions or reposition their portfolios.
Investors focus remained on developments over a plan to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis after the Guardian newspaper reported late Tuesday that France and Germany had agreed to add EUR2 trillion to the European Financial Stability Facility, citing unidentified European Union diplomats. However, the report was subsequently denied by EU officials.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody’s cut Spain’s credit rating by two notches late Tuesday to A1 from Aa2, citing high levels of debt in the banking and corporate sectors.
Crude prices found support after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said after markets closed Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.13 million barrels last week, while total gasoline supplies dropped by 1.64 million barrels.
Later in the day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration was to release its closely-watched report on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
The data was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.8 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to fall by 1.0 million barrels.
Crude prices rallied 2.3% on Tuesday to hit a four-week high of USD89.22 a barrel after Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs said it saw “upside risk” to oil prices, citing declining crude supplies and steady demand from emerging markets.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery added 0.19% to trade at USD111.36 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD22.73 a barrel.