WTI Crude Trades Near One-Week Low as U.S. Supplies Seen Rising

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the lowest level in more than a week before government data that may show U.S. stockpiles climbed a fourth week to the highest since at least 1931.

Futures were little changed in New York after declining a third day yesterday. U.S. crude inventories probably increased 450,000 barrels last week to 396 million, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release separate stockpile figures today. London-traded Brent’s premium to WTI shrank to the narrowest since January 2011.

WTI for June delivery was at $95.20 a barrel, up 3 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:31 a.m. Sydney time. The volume of all contracts traded was 76 percent below the 100-day average. Prices decreased 87 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $95.17 yesterday, the lowest close since May 2.

Brent for June settlement slipped $1.09 to $102.82 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The front-month European benchmark ended the session at a premium of $7.65 to WTI futures.

U.S. gasoline supplies probably fell by 1.1 million barrels last week, the Bloomberg survey shows. Distillate inventories, a category that include heating oil and diesel, climbed by 425,000 barrels, according to the survey.

(Source: Bloomberg)