Investing.com - Crude oil futures rallied to hit the highest level since May 2012 on Wednesday, following the release of strong U.S. employment data and amid concerns political unrest in Egypt would spread to major oil-producing countries in the Middle East.
Investors now looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD101.57 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 2% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 2.5% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD102.16 a barrel, the strongest level since May 4, 2012
Payroll processor ADP said earlier that the U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, more than expectations for an increase of 160,000.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 3,000 to 345,000.
Oil traders now looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 2.3 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by 0.6 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Meanwhile, oil prices received an additional boost after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rebuffed the military’s ultimatum to comprise with protesters or relinquish power on Tuesday.
Market players were concerned that the escalating tensions would lead to the closure of the Suez Canal, which transports approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil a day from northern Africa to the U.S.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery rose 1.3% to trade at USD105.35 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD3.78 a barrel, the narrowest level since December 2010.
The gap between the contracts has been on the decline in recent weeks, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.
Investors now looked ahead to closely-watched weekly supply data on stockpiles of crude and refined products from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD101.57 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 2% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 2.5% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of USD102.16 a barrel, the strongest level since May 4, 2012
Payroll processor ADP said earlier that the U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, more than expectations for an increase of 160,000.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 3,000 to 345,000.
Oil traders now looked ahead to data from the U.S. government on oil and fuel supplies later in the day to gauge the strength of demand from the world’s largest oil consumer.
The report was expected to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles declined by 2.3 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories were forecast to rise by 0.6 million barrels.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Meanwhile, oil prices received an additional boost after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rebuffed the military’s ultimatum to comprise with protesters or relinquish power on Tuesday.
Market players were concerned that the escalating tensions would lead to the closure of the Suez Canal, which transports approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil a day from northern Africa to the U.S.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for August delivery rose 1.3% to trade at USD105.35 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD3.78 a barrel, the narrowest level since December 2010.
The gap between the contracts has been on the decline in recent weeks, amid an improving production outlook in the North Sea and indications of declining stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex oil futures.