Investing.com – Crude oil futures were up sharply on Wednesday, boosted by reports that European Union finance officials were looking at a bank recapitalization plan and after industry data showed U.S. crude supplies declined unexpectedly last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD77.29 a barrel during European morning trade, surging 2.15%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.85% to trade at USD78.47 a barrel, the highest price since October 3.
Market sentiment was lifted after a report in the Financial Times said that euro zone finance ministers are looking into ways to coordinate the recapitalization of European lenders after agreeing that additional measures are needed support the region’s banks.
However, concerns over the region’s debt crisis lingered after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Italy’s debt rating by three notches to A2 from Aa2, with a negative outlook.
Crude prices found further support after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said after markets closed Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels last week, while total gasoline supplies dropped by 5.0 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 1.5 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to rise by 1.2 million barrels.
Despite the sharp rise in prices, financial service provider Commerzbank said that, "The downside risks for the economy and oil demand have not disappeared overnight, so a renewed price fall cannot be ruled out."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery jumped 1.1% to trade at USD100.89 a barrel, up USD23.60 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Oil traders continued to monitor developments in Libya in order to asses how quickly oil production in the country would return to pre-war levels.
The head of Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation, Nuri Berruien said Tuesday that the country aims to raise oil production to 700,000 barrels a day from current levels of 300,000 barrels a day by year-end.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at USD77.29 a barrel during European morning trade, surging 2.15%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.85% to trade at USD78.47 a barrel, the highest price since October 3.
Market sentiment was lifted after a report in the Financial Times said that euro zone finance ministers are looking into ways to coordinate the recapitalization of European lenders after agreeing that additional measures are needed support the region’s banks.
However, concerns over the region’s debt crisis lingered after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Italy’s debt rating by three notches to A2 from Aa2, with a negative outlook.
Crude prices found further support after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said after markets closed Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels last week, while total gasoline supplies dropped by 5.0 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 1.5 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to rise by 1.2 million barrels.
Despite the sharp rise in prices, financial service provider Commerzbank said that, "The downside risks for the economy and oil demand have not disappeared overnight, so a renewed price fall cannot be ruled out."
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for November delivery jumped 1.1% to trade at USD100.89 a barrel, up USD23.60 a barrel on its U.S. counterpart.
Oil traders continued to monitor developments in Libya in order to asses how quickly oil production in the country would return to pre-war levels.
The head of Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation, Nuri Berruien said Tuesday that the country aims to raise oil production to 700,000 barrels a day from current levels of 300,000 barrels a day by year-end.