Nymex Crude Falls as Dollar, Weak Fuel Demand Weigh

Crude-oil futures fell Friday on a stronger U.S. dollar and new indications of sluggish global fuel demand.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled 35 cents or 0.4% lower at $96.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures traded as low as $93.37 a barrel early in the session, but pared more than $1 of the early losses in the last half-hour of trading.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell 75 cents to trade $103.72 a barrel.

Futures were stung by gains in the dollar against its largest trading partners, which also weighed on broader commodities markets. The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index was recently down 1.1%.

Additionally, a report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries suggested global oil demand remains weak.

"It was a whipsaw session," said Peter Donovan, a broker at Vantage Trading, who said that worries about China's growth and economic weakness in the euro zone have kept some investors on edge. "Some of the bulls are on the defensive."

In its monthly outlook, OPEC kept its 2013 oil-demand outlook unchanged from last month, when it predicted demand would increase by 800,000 barrels a day compared to last year. But the group said demand growth was weaker than expected in the first quarter, and warned that slowing growth in China and economic weakness in the euro zone are threatening to further slow the global economy.

"The OPEC report today is not encouraging for demand in the second half of this year," said Andy Lebow, an oil broker at Jefferies Bache in New York. "We need a significant increase in demand to get oil above the top of this trading range."

After rallying to end 2012, U.S. oil prices have been stuck below $98 a barrel since the beginning of the year, and fell as low as $86 in April.

Analysts and traders say that without an improvement in the broader economy, fuel usage will remain sluggish. And increasing production, particularly in the U.S., is leading to rising stockpiles.

U.S. oil inventories rose to 395.5 million barrels last week, the highest level in over thirty years. Additionally, output is increasing in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

U.K.-based tanker tracker Oil Movements said Thursday that seaborne oil shipments from OPEC members will rise by 290,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to May 25, compared with the previous four-week period.

"This physical oversupply prevents prices from gaining at the moment," said Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 2.48 cents, or 0.9%, lower at $2.8603 a gallon. June heating oil settled 1% lower at $2.9062 a gallon.

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US Crude Oil Futures Settle Down; Products Hit One-Month High

U.S. crude oil futures ended weaker but above the day's lows, while refined products futures hit one-month highs on hopes of a coming improvement in the economy of the world's biggest oil consumer.

Oil traders looked beyond the highest stocks of U.S. crude oil in 32 years, and the current sluggish growth in fuel consumption, to bid up prices late in the session. Analysts said the rally was spurred by the hope that strong indicators from the U.S. market would jump-start sputtering oil demand.

The Labor Department's count of new weekly claims for unemployment benefits came in lower than economists had forecast, while a widely watched indicator of layoffs fell to prerecession levels for the first time. The four-week average of benefits claims dropped to the lowest level since November 2007.

"There's a little bit more optimism there, but I think we have to see it play out a little longer," said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 23 cents, at $96.39 a barrel, but up more than $1 from the session low of $95.35.

June Brent crude oil on the InterContinental Exchange shed earlier losses to settle 13 cents higher, at $104.47 a barrel.

Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark was $8.08 a barrel at the settlement, up from $7.72 a day earlier, which was the lowest level since Jan. 20, 2011.

Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark has narrowed considerably as rapidly rising domestic crude oil output makes its way to the key Gulf Coast refining region, displacing imports of Brent and similar crudes.

Refiners are shipping oil from the midcontinent to the Gulf by truck and rail, as well as pipelines, chipping away at the supply surplus in landlocked Cushing, Okla. Oil inventories at the hub, which is the delivery point for the Nymex futures contract, have fallen by 2 million barrels in the past two weeks. The year-on-year surplus has dropped to 5 million barrels from nearly 24 million barrels in January.

As the regional bottleneck eases, the Brent premium has narrowed to near $8 a barrel, from $17 a barrel early this year.

Crude prices had been under pressure from government data showing stocks rose modestly last week to the highest level since April 1981. The Energy Information Administration also said in its weekly oil supply/demand report Thursday that demand for gasoline, the most widely used petroleum product in the nation, dropped by 400,000 barrels a day last week from the year-earlier level. The 4.7% drop was the biggest at the early May start of the driving season since 1994.

But traders said there is widespread hope that increasing refinining activity will reduce the deep inventories and that a pickup in the economy will boost demand for refined products, even as the EIA sees summer gasoline use slipping to a 12-year low in the peak spring-summer driving season.

In June, the EIA projects crude oil processing at refineries will average 15.6 million barrels, up about 440,000 barrels a day above current levels, and crude stocks will fall by about 12 million barrels by the end of June, to just below year-earlier levels. Stocks are now above the year-earlier level by 16 million barrels, or 4.2%.

Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures, warned that these expectations make for "a weak bullish arguement" because if fuel demand doesn't improve, the problem of high crude oil stocks is simply shifted in the refined products market.

June heating oil futures settled 2.19 cents higher, at $2.9366 a gallon, the highest level since April 10.

Reformulated gasoline blendstock futures for June delivery settled at the highest level since April 9, gaining 3.13 cents, to $2.8851 a gallon.

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Crude Settles at One-Month High After Modest Inventory Rise

Crude-oil futures settled at a one-month high Wednesday after a report showed U.S. oil stockpiles rose less than expected last week.

Oil inventories increased 200,000 barrels to 395.5 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. The rise pushed oil inventories to their highest level since the EIA began keeping weekly records in August 1982, though the gain was less than anticipated by experts and offset by a steep rise in fuel demand.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $1, or 1.1%, higher at $96.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the highest front-month settlement since April 2.

Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe settled 6 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $104.34 a barrel.

"The market got a bit excited that the inventories for crude came in below expectations," said Dominick Chirichella, analyst at the Energy Management Institute in New York. "I think it's a lot to do about nothing...we're still building and inventories and are still at record-high levels of crude oil."

Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were calling for an inventory rise of 1.7 million barrels.

U.S. oil stockpiles have been rising steadily since the beginning of the year, fueled largely by a steady rise in domestic production. U.S. stockpiles are up roughly 10% year to date.

Market participants said they were surprised by last week's sharp pickup in demand, according to the EIA. The agency's metric for refined fuel use rose 6.5% to 19.1 million barrels a day, although demand for gasoline--the biggest component--was essentially flat.

"Without a doubt the demand number was a little more positive than we've been accustomed to seeing...but guys who are bearish on this market are bearish because of supply," said Pete Donovan, vice president at Vantage Trading, an oil options brokerage, in New York.

Oil futures have been buffeted in recent weeks by persistent signs of weak demand globally and improving global supply, but worries about the escalating civil war in Syria have kept traders on guard for supply disruptions in the Middle East. On Tuesday, unconfirmed reports of explosions in Tehran triggered a 30-cent intraday jump in the price of crude.

On Tuesday, the EIA said Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, boosted production 1.8% last month to 9.2 million barrels a day, the highest level since December. The data also showed overall output from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose to a five-month high.

Gasoline stockpiles last week fell 900,000 barrels, according to the EIA. Distillate stocks, including heating oil and diesel, rose 1.8 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose 2.6 percentage points to 87% of capacity.

Analysts had expected gasoline stockpiles to fall 300,000 barrels, while stocks of distillates were seen rising by 400,000 barrels. Refiners were expected to increase operations by 0.4 percentage point to 84.8% of capacity.

Oil inventories at the key trading hub of Cushing, Okla., fell 700,000 barrels last week to 49.1 million barrels. A recent decline in Cushing stockpiles has helped to narrow the discount of Nymex crude versus global benchmarks like Brent crude.

The Nymex crude's discount to Brent crude recently neared $7.72 a barrel, its lowest level since January 2011.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 2.04 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $2.8538 a gallon. June heating oil settled 1.30 cents, or 0.4%, lower at $2.9147 a gallon.

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Crude Settles at One-Month High After Modest Inventory Rise

Crude-oil futures settled at a one-month high Wednesday after a report showed U.S. oil stockpiles rose less than expected last week.

Oil inventories increased 200,000 barrels to 395.5 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. The rise pushed oil inventories to their highest level since the EIA began keeping weekly records in August 1982, though the gain was less than anticipated by experts and offset by a steep rise in fuel demand.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $1, or 1.1%, higher at $96.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the highest front-month settlement since April 2.

Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe settled 6 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $104.34 a barrel.

"The market got a bit excited that the inventories for crude came in below expectations," said Dominick Chirichella, analyst at the Energy Management Institute in New York. "I think it's a lot to do about nothing...we're still building and inventories and are still at record-high levels of crude oil."

Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were calling for an inventory rise of 1.7 million barrels.

U.S. oil stockpiles have been rising steadily since the beginning of the year, fueled largely by a steady rise in domestic production. U.S. stockpiles are up roughly 10% year to date.

Market participants said they were surprised by last week's sharp pickup in demand, according to the EIA. The agency's metric for refined fuel use rose 6.5% to 19.1 million barrels a day, although demand for gasoline--the biggest component--was essentially flat.

"Without a doubt the demand number was a little more positive than we've been accustomed to seeing...but guys who are bearish on this market are bearish because of supply," said Pete Donovan, vice president at Vantage Trading, an oil options brokerage, in New York.

Oil futures have been buffeted in recent weeks by persistent signs of weak demand globally and improving global supply, but worries about the escalating civil war in Syria have kept traders on guard for supply disruptions in the Middle East. On Tuesday, unconfirmed reports of explosions in Tehran triggered a 30-cent intraday jump in the price of crude.

On Tuesday, the EIA said Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, boosted production 1.8% last month to 9.2 million barrels a day, the highest level since December. The data also showed overall output from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose to a five-month high.

Gasoline stockpiles last week fell 900,000 barrels, according to the EIA. Distillate stocks, including heating oil and diesel, rose 1.8 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose 2.6 percentage points to 87% of capacity.

Analysts had expected gasoline stockpiles to fall 300,000 barrels, while stocks of distillates were seen rising by 400,000 barrels. Refiners were expected to increase operations by 0.4 percentage point to 84.8% of capacity.

Oil inventories at the key trading hub of Cushing, Okla., fell 700,000 barrels last week to 49.1 million barrels. A recent decline in Cushing stockpiles has helped to narrow the discount of Nymex crude versus global benchmarks like Brent crude.

The Nymex crude's discount to Brent crude recently neared $7.72 a barrel, its lowest level since January 2011.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 2.04 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $2.8538 a gallon. June heating oil settled 1.30 cents, or 0.4%, lower at $2.9147 a gallon.

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Nymex Crude Settles $1.62 Higher at $95.61/Bbl

Crude-oil futures rose 1.7% Friday to a one-month high as monthly jobs data showed hiring picked up in April, offering a hopeful sign for the broader economy.

The U.S. added 165,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department, above economists' average estimate of a 148,000 increase. The unemployment rate fell to 7.5% from 7.6%.

For energy traders, the jobs report boosted expectations that demand for gasoline and other fuels will start to pick up as the economy improves.

"With stronger jobs numbers, oil demand should be on its way," said Carl Larry, head of oil-trading newsletter Oil Outlooks and Opinions.

U.S. oil stockpiles rose to the highest level in at least three decades last week, while gasoline supplies in the high-demand Northeast U.S. are 11% above average for this time of year. If the economy picks up steam, those high levels of supplies could begin to fall.

"This puts us back on track for a much stronger economy, and in terms of energy demand, it bodes well for gasoline," said John Kilduff, founding partner of New York hedge fund Again Capital. "No matter how expensive gasoline gets, people will pay for it to drive to their job."

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $1.62 higher at $95.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as $96.04 a barrel earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE Futures Exchange was $1.34 higher at $104.19 a barrel.

Nymex gasoline futures for June delivery settled 4.48 cents, or 1.6%, higher at $2.8254 a gallon.

The gains in oil follow a sharp rally in the previous session, when Nymex crude futures jumped 3.3%, reversing losses from earlier in the week.

Broader markets also moved higher following the jobs data, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently up 0.9%. Copper futures surged 6.8% to $3.3145 a pound.

Both Nymex crude and its European counterpart, Brent, have been sensitive this week to economic indicators, including disappointing data on the U.S. and Chinese economies. But on Thursday, the European Central Bank's decision to cut interest rates prompted a rally in equity markets that spilled over into the crude-oil market.

But despite Friday's gains, many analysts and traders say that the oil market remains well-supplied, which could cap any sustained price gains. And higher stockpiles in the U.S., due in part to surging domestic production, come as some overseas producers are keeping output strong.

The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan will be in place to watch the first shipment of crude oil from the south through Sudan's Port Sudan in the next few days, after a more than 15-month halt kept the countries' 350,000 barrels a day of production off the market.

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Nymex Crude Settles $1.62 Higher at $95.61/Bbl

Crude-oil futures rose 1.7% Friday to a one-month high as monthly jobs data showed hiring picked up in April, offering a hopeful sign for the broader economy.

The U.S. added 165,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department, above economists' average estimate of a 148,000 increase. The unemployment rate fell to 7.5% from 7.6%.

For energy traders, the jobs report boosted expectations that demand for gasoline and other fuels will start to pick up as the economy improves.

"With stronger jobs numbers, oil demand should be on its way," said Carl Larry, head of oil-trading newsletter Oil Outlooks and Opinions.

U.S. oil stockpiles rose to the highest level in at least three decades last week, while gasoline supplies in the high-demand Northeast U.S. are 11% above average for this time of year. If the economy picks up steam, those high levels of supplies could begin to fall.

"This puts us back on track for a much stronger economy, and in terms of energy demand, it bodes well for gasoline," said John Kilduff, founding partner of New York hedge fund Again Capital. "No matter how expensive gasoline gets, people will pay for it to drive to their job."

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $1.62 higher at $95.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as $96.04 a barrel earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE Futures Exchange was $1.34 higher at $104.19 a barrel.

Nymex gasoline futures for June delivery settled 4.48 cents, or 1.6%, higher at $2.8254 a gallon.

The gains in oil follow a sharp rally in the previous session, when Nymex crude futures jumped 3.3%, reversing losses from earlier in the week.

Broader markets also moved higher following the jobs data, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently up 0.9%. Copper futures surged 6.8% to $3.3145 a pound.

Both Nymex crude and its European counterpart, Brent, have been sensitive this week to economic indicators, including disappointing data on the U.S. and Chinese economies. But on Thursday, the European Central Bank's decision to cut interest rates prompted a rally in equity markets that spilled over into the crude-oil market.

But despite Friday's gains, many analysts and traders say that the oil market remains well-supplied, which could cap any sustained price gains. And higher stockpiles in the U.S., due in part to surging domestic production, come as some overseas producers are keeping output strong.

The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan will be in place to watch the first shipment of crude oil from the south through Sudan's Port Sudan in the next few days, after a more than 15-month halt kept the countries' 350,000 barrels a day of production off the market.

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Crude Oil Futures Settle at Two-Week Highs on Supply Concerns

Crude-oil futures prices settled at two-week highs Thursday on concerns over tightening supplies, while U.S. gasoline demand heats up ahead of the peak spring-summer driving season.

Traders said weakness in the dollar, rising equities prices and news that U.S. weekly claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly five years added to buying interest.

"There are a bunch of things going on. There does seem to be some risk-on buying in the last couple of days," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president for energy futures at Jefferies Bache. Mr. Lebow and others said oil-market investors are sensing that oil demand in the U.S. will be stronger in the near term than elsewhere and are favoring the U.S. benchmark futures contract over internationally traded North Sea Brent crude.

Implied demand for gasoline--the most widely used petroleum product in the world's biggest oil consumer--climbed to its highest level since November last week, U.S. government data showed. Gasoline stockpiles logged their biggest drop in a year, breathing new life into futures contracts that fell to a four-month low in recent days.

"People have been so down on demand. Whether it's a fluke, or seasonal, it doesn't really matter. There is a perception that demand is getting better," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures.

The EIA has forecast that gasoline demand will be slightly down this spring-summer from a year-earlier and drop to a 12-year low. But the near-term strength is spilling over into crude oil prices, on expectations that refiners will use more to turn out more refined products.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 2.4%, or $2.21 a barrel, to $93.64 a barrel, the highest price since April 10. The rise followed a 2.5% gain on Wednesday that was the biggest rise for the year.

June Brent crude oil on the InterContinental Exchange rose 1.68 a barrel, or 1.7%, to $103.41 a barrel, a two-week high. The gain was the biggest since Dec. 26.

Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark was $9.77 a barrel at the settlement, the smallest since Jan. 3, 2012. The spread topped $23 a barrel as recently as early February, but surging U.S. oil output, now at a 21-year high above 7.3 million barrels a day has cut deeply into U.S. crude imports, shrinking Brent's value to the U.S. benchmark.

New technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have unlocked vast oil reserve trapped in shale, pushing U.S. output higher by 20% this year and by 1.2 million barrels a day from a year ago. Imports have dropped by as much as domestic output has risen, as crude supplies make their way to the Gulf Coast refining hub, eliminating the need for foreign barrels which compete with Brent.

Brent found support Thursday from a Reuters report quoting industry sources saying that work on a gas pipeline will cut crude oil output from the seven-field Norwegian Ekofisk complex for three weeks this June. Ekofisk produces around 170,000 barrels a day of crude.

Buoyant gasoline future found further strength from a fire at a unit of a Louisiana refinery that makes octane enhancers for gasoline.

The fire, at a reformer unit at Alon USA Energy Inc.'s 83,000-barrels-a-day Krotz Springs, La., was quickly extinguished, the company said. But the impact on operations at the plant isn't yet clear.

Nymex May reformulated gasoline futures posted their biggest gain since March, rising 6.44 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $2.8118 a gallon, a two-week high.

Heating oil for May delivery rose for a sixth straight session, settling 6.04 cents, or 2.1% higher, at $2.9017 a gallon. The rise was the biggest since Nov. 19, 2012, and put prices at a two-week high. The heating oil contract trades as a proxy for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, which fuels trucks and trains.

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Crude Oil Futures Settle at Two-Week Highs on Supply Concerns

Crude-oil futures prices settled at two-week highs Thursday on concerns over tightening supplies, while U.S. gasoline demand heats up ahead of the peak spring-summer driving season.

Traders said weakness in the dollar, rising equities prices and news that U.S. weekly claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly five years added to buying interest.

"There are a bunch of things going on. There does seem to be some risk-on buying in the last couple of days," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president for energy futures at Jefferies Bache. Mr. Lebow and others said oil-market investors are sensing that oil demand in the U.S. will be stronger in the near term than elsewhere and are favoring the U.S. benchmark futures contract over internationally traded North Sea Brent crude.

Implied demand for gasoline--the most widely used petroleum product in the world's biggest oil consumer--climbed to its highest level since November last week, U.S. government data showed. Gasoline stockpiles logged their biggest drop in a year, breathing new life into futures contracts that fell to a four-month low in recent days.

"People have been so down on demand. Whether it's a fluke, or seasonal, it doesn't really matter. There is a perception that demand is getting better," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures.

The EIA has forecast that gasoline demand will be slightly down this spring-summer from a year-earlier and drop to a 12-year low. But the near-term strength is spilling over into crude oil prices, on expectations that refiners will use more to turn out more refined products.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 2.4%, or $2.21 a barrel, to $93.64 a barrel, the highest price since April 10. The rise followed a 2.5% gain on Wednesday that was the biggest rise for the year.

June Brent crude oil on the InterContinental Exchange rose 1.68 a barrel, or 1.7%, to $103.41 a barrel, a two-week high. The gain was the biggest since Dec. 26.

Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark was $9.77 a barrel at the settlement, the smallest since Jan. 3, 2012. The spread topped $23 a barrel as recently as early February, but surging U.S. oil output, now at a 21-year high above 7.3 million barrels a day has cut deeply into U.S. crude imports, shrinking Brent's value to the U.S. benchmark.

New technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have unlocked vast oil reserve trapped in shale, pushing U.S. output higher by 20% this year and by 1.2 million barrels a day from a year ago. Imports have dropped by as much as domestic output has risen, as crude supplies make their way to the Gulf Coast refining hub, eliminating the need for foreign barrels which compete with Brent.

Brent found support Thursday from a Reuters report quoting industry sources saying that work on a gas pipeline will cut crude oil output from the seven-field Norwegian Ekofisk complex for three weeks this June. Ekofisk produces around 170,000 barrels a day of crude.

Buoyant gasoline future found further strength from a fire at a unit of a Louisiana refinery that makes octane enhancers for gasoline.

The fire, at a reformer unit at Alon USA Energy Inc.'s 83,000-barrels-a-day Krotz Springs, La., was quickly extinguished, the company said. But the impact on operations at the plant isn't yet clear.

Nymex May reformulated gasoline futures posted their biggest gain since March, rising 6.44 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $2.8118 a gallon, a two-week high.

Heating oil for May delivery rose for a sixth straight session, settling 6.04 cents, or 2.1% higher, at $2.9017 a gallon. The rise was the biggest since Nov. 19, 2012, and put prices at a two-week high. The heating oil contract trades as a proxy for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, which fuels trucks and trains.

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Nymex Crude Rises, Bouncing Off Recent 2013 Low

U.S. crude futures posted modest gains Friday following sharp declines early this week as traders paused to gauge whether weak demand will keep prices moving lower.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled higher by 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $88.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery settled 52 cents higher at $99.65 a barrel.

Oil prices fell 3.6% this week, and are down nearly 10% in April amid high domestic crude-oil supplies and a broader investor retreat from commodities markets. With futures trading near 2013 lows, some investors say a brief rebound is likely even if further declines are ahead.

"Traders are looking for a reason for why this thing might bounce back," said Pete Donovan, an oil broker at Vantage Trading in New York.

Earlier Friday, crude futures rose after Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was discussing holding a special meeting after Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel. But prices pared gains when three OPEC officials said the group isn't taking formal steps to gather, making such an event unlikely before a scheduled conference at the end of next month.

Venezuela officials have made frequent calls to hold an oil-price "floor" of $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, many analysts and investors have grown concerned in recent weeks about weak fuel demand, particularly with the approach of the summer driving season in the U.S.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted spring-summer demand for gasoline will fall to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

The slump also coincides with a broader turn from commodities markets. Traders have fled from gold, silver, copper and several energy markets in recent weeks. In addition to weaker demand for oil in the U.S., many commodity investors are concerned that slowing growth in China will also limit demand for raw materials.

"Commodities may face a slow growth environment for the next few quarters," said Barclays analysts in a research report Friday.

Mark Waggoner, head of Excel Futures, said any rebound in oil will be brief.

"The market may try and bump up a little bit, but that's it. It's going down," he said, though he added that market activity on Friday was muted, possibly because people were following the search for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. "Most of the people are just talking about Boston."

Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 1.69 cents higher at $2.7724 a gallon. May heating oil settled 0.85 cent higher at $2.7876 a gallon.

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Nymex Crude Rises, Bouncing Off Recent 2013 Low

U.S. crude futures posted modest gains Friday following sharp declines early this week as traders paused to gauge whether weak demand will keep prices moving lower.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled higher by 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $88.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery settled 52 cents higher at $99.65 a barrel.

Oil prices fell 3.6% this week, and are down nearly 10% in April amid high domestic crude-oil supplies and a broader investor retreat from commodities markets. With futures trading near 2013 lows, some investors say a brief rebound is likely even if further declines are ahead.

"Traders are looking for a reason for why this thing might bounce back," said Pete Donovan, an oil broker at Vantage Trading in New York.

Earlier Friday, crude futures rose after Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was discussing holding a special meeting after Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel. But prices pared gains when three OPEC officials said the group isn't taking formal steps to gather, making such an event unlikely before a scheduled conference at the end of next month.

Venezuela officials have made frequent calls to hold an oil-price "floor" of $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, many analysts and investors have grown concerned in recent weeks about weak fuel demand, particularly with the approach of the summer driving season in the U.S.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted spring-summer demand for gasoline will fall to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

The slump also coincides with a broader turn from commodities markets. Traders have fled from gold, silver, copper and several energy markets in recent weeks. In addition to weaker demand for oil in the U.S., many commodity investors are concerned that slowing growth in China will also limit demand for raw materials.

"Commodities may face a slow growth environment for the next few quarters," said Barclays analysts in a research report Friday.

Mark Waggoner, head of Excel Futures, said any rebound in oil will be brief.

"The market may try and bump up a little bit, but that's it. It's going down," he said, though he added that market activity on Friday was muted, possibly because people were following the search for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. "Most of the people are just talking about Boston."

Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 1.69 cents higher at $2.7724 a gallon. May heating oil settled 0.85 cent higher at $2.7876 a gallon.

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Crude Oil Settles Higher on Bargain Buying after Recent Sharp Drop

Crude-oil futures prices settled higher Thursday amid bargain-hunting after a recent steep selloff, with North Sea Brent posting its first gain after six down days.

News of lower exports of Nigerian crude oil buoyed prices of European benchmark Brent crude, which had tumbled in the past six session to its lowest level since July 2. Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSA, RDSA.LN) Nigerian unit said it cut output of Bonny Light crude oil by 150,000 barrels a day and halted exports in order to resolve issues with a key oil pipeline.

Traders said an extended outage in shipments of the Brent lookalike would underpin prices of the European benchmark. But the overall supply-demand picture for oil remains weak, amid stuttering signs of economy recovery in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer.

"We are a slave to the economy right now and the picture's not particularly great," said Carl Larry, analyst at Oil Outlooks and Opinions.

June North Sea Brent crude oil futures on the InterContinental Exchange settled 1.5%, or $1.44, higher at $99.13 a barrel, after six days of declines. The June contract traded in a high-low range of near $10 a barrel since April 10, dropping 8%, or nearly $8.50 a barrel in the period.

May-delivery light, sweet crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 1.2%, or $1.01 higher, at $88.20 a barrel, after settling Wednesday at a four-month low.

U.S. benchmark crude has dropped by more than $10 a barrel from highs in early April, as domestic crude oil and gasoline inventories have climbed, while demand for fuels remains sluggish. Front-month Brent, has fallen by about $12 a barrel this month, and the three-day string of prices below $100 a barrel is the longest since June 2012.

"We've lopped off $12 and it looks like we're wrapping up the selloff and starting to stabilize here," said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy. "But it's not that all of sudden we have confidence that the economy is improving."

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of U.S. workers applying for jobless benefits last week rose by more than economists had expected. Elsewhere, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators posted an unexpected fall in March, as consumers turned gloomy on the economic outlook. The index declined 0.1% in March, its first fall since August, and counter to an expected 0.2% rise recorded in a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

U.S. gasoline demand dropped to a one-month low and was the lowest for the second week in April in 16 years, government data released on Thursday show. Demand of 8.383 million barrels a day last week was nearly 400,000 barrels a day below the year-earlier level.

The Energy Information Administration forecasted last week that gains in fuel-efficient vehicles will trim spring-summer driving season demand this year to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

Nymex May reformulated gasoline blendstock futures posted the first gain after falling 12%, or 37.25 cents in five of the previous six sessions to a three-month low. The contract settled up 2.65 cents, or 1%, Thursday, at $2.7555 a gallon.

Nymex May heating oil futures settled 4.45 cents, or 1.6%, higher, at $2.7791 a gallon. Prices fell 7.7% over the previous six days to the lowest level since July 2012.

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Crude Oil Settles Higher on Bargain Buying after Recent Sharp Drop

Crude-oil futures prices settled higher Thursday amid bargain-hunting after a recent steep selloff, with North Sea Brent posting its first gain after six down days.

News of lower exports of Nigerian crude oil buoyed prices of European benchmark Brent crude, which had tumbled in the past six session to its lowest level since July 2. Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSA, RDSA.LN) Nigerian unit said it cut output of Bonny Light crude oil by 150,000 barrels a day and halted exports in order to resolve issues with a key oil pipeline.

Traders said an extended outage in shipments of the Brent lookalike would underpin prices of the European benchmark. But the overall supply-demand picture for oil remains weak, amid stuttering signs of economy recovery in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer.

"We are a slave to the economy right now and the picture's not particularly great," said Carl Larry, analyst at Oil Outlooks and Opinions.

June North Sea Brent crude oil futures on the InterContinental Exchange settled 1.5%, or $1.44, higher at $99.13 a barrel, after six days of declines. The June contract traded in a high-low range of near $10 a barrel since April 10, dropping 8%, or nearly $8.50 a barrel in the period.

May-delivery light, sweet crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 1.2%, or $1.01 higher, at $88.20 a barrel, after settling Wednesday at a four-month low.

U.S. benchmark crude has dropped by more than $10 a barrel from highs in early April, as domestic crude oil and gasoline inventories have climbed, while demand for fuels remains sluggish. Front-month Brent, has fallen by about $12 a barrel this month, and the three-day string of prices below $100 a barrel is the longest since June 2012.

"We've lopped off $12 and it looks like we're wrapping up the selloff and starting to stabilize here," said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy. "But it's not that all of sudden we have confidence that the economy is improving."

The Labor Department said Thursday the number of U.S. workers applying for jobless benefits last week rose by more than economists had expected. Elsewhere, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators posted an unexpected fall in March, as consumers turned gloomy on the economic outlook. The index declined 0.1% in March, its first fall since August, and counter to an expected 0.2% rise recorded in a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

U.S. gasoline demand dropped to a one-month low and was the lowest for the second week in April in 16 years, government data released on Thursday show. Demand of 8.383 million barrels a day last week was nearly 400,000 barrels a day below the year-earlier level.

The Energy Information Administration forecasted last week that gains in fuel-efficient vehicles will trim spring-summer driving season demand this year to a 12-year low of 8.877 million barrels a day.

Nymex May reformulated gasoline blendstock futures posted the first gain after falling 12%, or 37.25 cents in five of the previous six sessions to a three-month low. The contract settled up 2.65 cents, or 1%, Thursday, at $2.7555 a gallon.

Nymex May heating oil futures settled 4.45 cents, or 1.6%, higher, at $2.7791 a gallon. Prices fell 7.7% over the previous six days to the lowest level since July 2012.

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Nymex Crude Futures Settle at Fresh 2013 Low on Demand Woes

Oil futures extended their recent losses Wednesday, hitting their lowest level all year in the U.S., as investors focused on falling gasoline demand in a weekly report on domestic crude stockpiles.

The Energy Information Administration said its measure of demand for the motor fuel fell 1.1% to 8.3 million barrels a day during the week ended April 12, the lowest level for that week in 16 years.

The decline in demand follows weeks of disappointing economic headlines, which have damped sentiment about oil demand.

"Demand is weakening and looking at the economic numbers of the last few weeks we knew that was going to happen," said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks and Opinions, an energy newsletter.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled $2.04, or 2.3%, lower at $86.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest finish yet this year. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently declined $2.11, or 2.1%, to $97.80 a barrel.

The disappointing gasoline demand figure is the latest sign that demand concerns have captured the focus in the oil market, particularly in the wake of disappointing economic data out of the U.S. and elsewhere.

In recent weeks, the International Energy Agency, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Energy Information Administration all cut their outlook for 2013 oil demand growth. Nymex crude has fallen more than 10% since a recent high in February, while Brent has shed more than 15% since February.

"Demand, especially in Europe, is going to continue to be poor," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, a Houston consultancy. "That and stagnant growth in the U.S. Those are weighing on the market."

Analysts at BNP Paribas were the latest market observers to cut their oil-price forecast, citing the recent market downturn. The analysts cut their 2013 average forecast for Nymex crude to $95 a barrel from $100 and cut their Brent outlook to $108 from $115, though they said prices could recover later in the year.

The EIA said oil stockpiles last week dropped 1.2 million barrels last week, marking a retreat from a 23-year high. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were calling for an increase of 900,000 barrels. Gasoline stocks fell 600,000 barrels, while stocks of distillates--including heating oil and diesel--jumped 2.4 million barrels.

Refinery utilization fell 0.5 percentage point to 86.3% of capacity.

Analysts expected U.S. gasoline stockpiles to fall by 500,000 barrels, while stocks of distillates were forecast to fall by 500,000 barrels. Refiners are expected to keep operations unchanged.

Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 5.28 cents, or 1.9%, lower at $2.7290 a gallon. May heating oil settled 7.19 cents, or 2.6%, lower at $2.7346 a gallon.

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Crude Oil Settles Lower on Weak Demand; Brent falls to 9-Month Low

Crude-oil futures prices fell sharply Friday, hit by growing worries over rising U.S. oil supplies and slowing growth in global oil demand.

ICE North Sea Brent crude-oil futures, a key global benchmark, dropped for a third straight day, settling at a nine-month low.

Traders said Brent is under pressure from continued worries about weakness in European economies and reduced demand caused by refinery maintenance in Europe and Asia, along with growing competition from rising U.S. oil output.

U.S. benchmark oil futures settled at five-week lows as crude oil inventories have risen to their highest level since July 1990, even as domestic refiners have lifted crude oil processing rates to the highest early April level in eight years. Those busy processers are increasing supplies of gasoline, erasing concerns about tight supplies ahead of the peak spring-summer driving season, which looks to be stuck in reverse this year due to weak demand.

Government forecasters, while warning of a slowdown in the growth of global oil consumption, expect demand for gasoline --the most widely used petroleum product in the world's biggest oil consumer--to slip to a 12-year low in the peak season. The EIA said U.S. vehicles' increased miles per gallon more than offsets the expected rise in miles traveled, the EIA said.

Spurred by the weak outlook and news that inventories in the key East Coast region now top five-year averages, traders slashed gasoline futures by 14 cents as gallon over the past three sessions, leaving prices at a three-month low on Friday.

"It's simply a supply-demand situation," said Dan Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures. "We've basically got more supply here than we know what to do with."

Light, sweet crude oil for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 2.4%, or $2.22 lower, at $91.29 a barrel, the lowest price since March 6.

ICE North Sea Brent for May delivery settled 1.1%, or $1.16 a barrel lower, at $103.11 a barrel, after an intraday low of $101.09 a barrel.

Forecasts this week from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the International Energy Agency call for demand in the current quarter to drop by 180,000 to 400,000 barrels a day from the first-quarter level. That compares with a quarter-to-quarter rise at this time last year of 300,000 barrels a day, according the IEA, the energy watchdog of the major industrialized nations.

Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures, said prices have been hit hard by a "relatively consistent gloomy picture that is weighing on market sentiment."

Weak seasonal demand in the current quarter means, "there's simply no reason to anticipate a quick recovery," Mr. Evans said. "Demand and prices may rebound in the third quarter, but it will likely begin from a lower price level."

Analysts at Barclays said current oil-price weakness is "transient" and demand will pick up in coming months, as European refiners return from maintenance by late May and boost crude oil demand. Asian refiners are expected to wrap up seasonal work in June, providing a further lift for crude prices.

Lower global refiner demand for Brent comes as imported crudes are losing market share in the U.S. due to rising domestic output. PBF Energy Inc. said this week it plans to process up to 70,000 barrels a day of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale oil region at its 190,000 barrels-a-day refnery in Delaware, a move which analyst said will lower crude imports, adding to pressure on Brent crude prices.

Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy noted that U.S. crude prices have fallen by more than more than $7.50 a barrel since the April 1 high of $97.80, and said good part of the worries about the global economy may be factored into current prices.

"We may see a test of $90 a barrel, but I don't think the bears will get much more ferocious unless we get signs a further downturn," he said.

May reformulated gasoline blendstock futures settled 1%, or 2.92 cents, lower at $2.8018 a gallon, the lowest price since Jan. 18.

May heating oil futures fell 2.73 cents, to settle at $2.8719 a gallon, the lowest price since March 19.

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Crude Oil Slips as Demand Outlook Weakens

U.S. crude-oil futures fell Thursday as slumping gasoline prices and forecasts for weaker global demand weighed on the oil market.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled $1.13, or 1.2%, lower at $93.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell $1.60 to $104.19 a barrel.

Oil declined in tandem with gasoline futures, which settled at the lowest level since January as traders continue to flee from rising domestic supplies. Reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, has fallen 8.8% in April, and settled 3.41 cents lower Thursday at $2.8310 a gallon.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose 1.7 million barrels last week. Imports to the U.S. East Coast rose 64% from the week earlier period to the highest levels since August, and stockpiles in this high-demand region are now 5.4% above the five-year average level for this time of year.

"You've got flat U.S. demand and growing production," said Andy Lebow, an oil broker at Jefferies Bache in New York. "The market's reached this moment, it's a moment of clarity" about high supplies, he said.

Oil futures have fallen for most of 2013, and after peaking in March U.S. gasoline prices have also tumbled. Refineries that shut down earlier this year for scheduled maintenance periods have started to ramp up operations, churning out more fuel despite tepid demand from drivers.

Weak gasoline demand is helping to lower prices at the pump. National average retail regular gasoline prices fell to $3.564 a gallon Thursday, according to the daily AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Prices are down from $3.703 a gallon a month ago.

Still, dimmer prospects for fuel use aren't confined to the U.S. The International Energy Agency, which represents a group of the world's largest oil-consuming countries, cut its forecast for 2013 oil-demand growth by 25,000 barrels a day to 90.6 million barrels a day due to falling fuel use in industrialized countries, particularly in Europe.

The IEA's revised outlook follows similar reports this week from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Energy Information Administration. Both groups cut their forecasts for world oil-demand growth this year.

A weaker outlook on fuel usage this year, coupled with surging U.S. production and an improving supply outlook in other regions, is keeping a lid on global oil prices.

May heating oil settled 4.88 cents lower Thursday at $2.8991 a gallon.

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Weak Jobs Data Batters Crude; Brent Sinks To Lowest in 8 Months

A disappointing reading on March U.S. payrolls sent crude oil futures tumbling, with Brent crude sinking to an eight-month low, on fresh concerns about weak oil demand in the world's biggest crude consumer.

Brent crude for May delivery fell $2.09, or 2%, to $104.25 a barrel, poised to settle at its lowest level since July 24.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 56 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $92.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest level in two weeks.

The U.S. added just 88,000 jobs in March, according to the Labor Department Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected nonfarm payrolls to rise 200,000.

The unemployment rate, obtained from a separate survey, ticked 0.1 point lower to 7.6%.

The report was a particularly heavy blow for oil markets, analysts said, because the U.S. economy had been adding jobs at a quickening clip in recent months. Job growth is closely correlated with oil demand because fewer jobs means fewer motorists driving to work, buying goods or taking vacations.

"The employment rate is very critical to having a constructive outlook on energy demand," said John Kilduff, founding partner at Again Capital in New York. "It's been a bright spot, and now it's obviously diminishing."

Friday marked the third straight day of lower crude prices, with Nymex crude shedding 4.7% this week and the Brent contract posting a 5.2% loss. Analysts attribute the declines to a drumbeat of disappointing economic news this week, including a weak jobs report Wednesday from Automatic Data Processing Inc. and a disappointing read on weekly jobless claims Thursday.

Brent's heavier losses have raised expectations among investors that the two crude-oil benchmarks, which have traded far apart for more than two years, may be closing in on each other again. Brent's premium to WTI shrank on Friday to under $12 to its narrowest since late June.

"This week is really not about oil fundamentals; it's about global macro [news] and appetite for risk in commodities as a whole," said Brison Bickerton, managing director at Freepoint Commodities, a trading firm.

Brent's losses have been exacerbated by several independent factors, say analysts, including improving output in the North Sea--where the crude is produced--and cooling global tensions. Dow Jones Newswires data indicate that loadings of crude oil in the North Sea in May are set to rise 8.5% from April levels.

Meanwhile, Iran sat down Friday with global powers to discuss plans to end an international stand-off over its nuclear program, signaling that a violent confrontation remains unlikely even if diplomatic progress remained elusive.

A series of high-profile oil analysts have taken an increasingly bearish stance on oil prices in recent weeks. Last week, analysts at Citigroup said rising efficiency and increasing natural-gas demand could cause oil demand to peak by the end of this decade, leading oil prices to trade between $80 and $90 a barrel in the long term.

On Wednesday, oil analysts at Barclays cut their forecast for 2013 Brent crude to $112 a barrel from $125 a barrel, and their view for Nymex crude to $95 a barrel from $108 a barrel. The analysts cited a "a more placid geopolitical environment than previously expected."

Refined fuels also plumbed new lows Friday. Front-month May reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled lower by 3.51 cents, or 1.2%, at $2.8636 a gallon, its lowest finish since Feb. 27.

May heating oil finished lower by 5.36 cents, or 1.8%, at $2.9098 a gallon, a one-week low.

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Crude 16 Cents Lower; Brent Climbs 1%

Global benchmark oil prices diverged sharply Monday, with North Sea Brent crude gaining on concerns over the shutdown of a U.S. pipeline in the key Gulf Coast refining region.

U.S. crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 16 cents lower, at $97.07 a barrel, on profit taking after a 5.2% gain over the previous five sessions.

Traders, meantime, bid up the price of North Sea Brent crude oil futures on the belief that oil imports that compete with Brent will be strongly sought after by U.S. Gulf Coast refiners after the closure of Exxon Mobil's Pegasus Pipeline.

The 95,000 barrels a day pipeline that brings Canadian crude oil from Patoka, Ill. to Nederland, Texas was closed Friday after a leak on a section in Arkansas. The company hasn't given a likely date for restarting the line yet.

Analysts said the closure of the pipeline means that crude oil inventories will continue to build up at bottlenecks in the middle of the country, such as the Cushing, Okla. terminal that is the delivery point for the Nymex crude oil futures contract. Refiners have in recent week increased the volumes of oil that they move from Cushing, using shipments by rail and truck to augment stunted pipeline flows.

Expectations of a strong and steady draining of inventories at Cushing have brought strong pressure to bear on Brent prices in recent week and lifted the value of the Nymex benchmark contract. Greater moves of oil out of Cushing would make Gulf refiners less dependent on crude oil imports, which are priced against Brent, a global benchmark and would bolster U.S. crude oil prices. "Brent has dropped so much recently that we are seeing a turnaround in that now," said Gene McGillian, analyst and broker at Tradition Energy.

ICE North Sea Brent for May delivery was up $1.07, or 1%, at $111.09 a barrel late Monday. Brent posted a premium of $14.02 a barrel to the Nymex contract, the most since March 21. Brent ended March at $12.79 a barrel above the Nymex contract, down from a premium at the end of February of $19.33 a barrel.

Mr. McGillian said prices of U.S. oils were also undermined by indications of slower than expected growth in the manufacturing sectors in both the U.S. and China, the world's top two oil consumers.

Meantime, traders also are concerned about rising oil inventories in the U.S.

U.S. crude oil inventories rose 1.9 million barrels in the week ended March 29, according to early estimates from five analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. A rise of that size would put crude stocks at their highest level since July 1990 and at their highest end March level since 1931.

The closely watched government inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due to be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, releases its data at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Gasoline stocks are expected to drop by 300,000 barrels, while distillate stocks, comprising heating oil and diesel fuel, were expected to fall 400,000 barrels. Refiners, returning from maintenance work, are expected to boost capacity utilization by 0.4 percentage point to 86.1%.

Elsewhere, May heating oil settled up 2.17 cents, at $3.0687 a gallon, while May reformulated gasoline blendstock futures were 0.91 cent lower, at $3.1015 a gallon.

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Crude 16 Cents Lower; Brent Climbs 1%

Global benchmark oil prices diverged sharply Monday, with North Sea Brent crude gaining on concerns over the shutdown of a U.S. pipeline in the key Gulf Coast refining region.

U.S. crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 16 cents lower, at $97.07 a barrel, on profit taking after a 5.2% gain over the previous five sessions.

Traders, meantime, bid up the price of North Sea Brent crude oil futures on the belief that oil imports that compete with Brent will be strongly sought after by U.S. Gulf Coast refiners after the closure of Exxon Mobil's Pegasus Pipeline.

The 95,000 barrels a day pipeline that brings Canadian crude oil from Patoka, Ill. to Nederland, Texas was closed Friday after a leak on a section in Arkansas. The company hasn't given a likely date for restarting the line yet.

Analysts said the closure of the pipeline means that crude oil inventories will continue to build up at bottlenecks in the middle of the country, such as the Cushing, Okla. terminal that is the delivery point for the Nymex crude oil futures contract. Refiners have in recent week increased the volumes of oil that they move from Cushing, using shipments by rail and truck to augment stunted pipeline flows.

Expectations of a strong and steady draining of inventories at Cushing have brought strong pressure to bear on Brent prices in recent week and lifted the value of the Nymex benchmark contract. Greater moves of oil out of Cushing would make Gulf refiners less dependent on crude oil imports, which are priced against Brent, a global benchmark and would bolster U.S. crude oil prices. "Brent has dropped so much recently that we are seeing a turnaround in that now," said Gene McGillian, analyst and broker at Tradition Energy.

ICE North Sea Brent for May delivery was up $1.07, or 1%, at $111.09 a barrel late Monday. Brent posted a premium of $14.02 a barrel to the Nymex contract, the most since March 21. Brent ended March at $12.79 a barrel above the Nymex contract, down from a premium at the end of February of $19.33 a barrel.

Mr. McGillian said prices of U.S. oils were also undermined by indications of slower than expected growth in the manufacturing sectors in both the U.S. and China, the world's top two oil consumers.

Meantime, traders also are concerned about rising oil inventories in the U.S.

U.S. crude oil inventories rose 1.9 million barrels in the week ended March 29, according to early estimates from five analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. A rise of that size would put crude stocks at their highest level since July 1990 and at their highest end March level since 1931.

The closely watched government inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due to be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, releases its data at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Gasoline stocks are expected to drop by 300,000 barrels, while distillate stocks, comprising heating oil and diesel fuel, were expected to fall 400,000 barrels. Refiners, returning from maintenance work, are expected to boost capacity utilization by 0.4 percentage point to 86.1%.

Elsewhere, May heating oil settled up 2.17 cents, at $3.0687 a gallon, while May reformulated gasoline blendstock futures were 0.91 cent lower, at $3.1015 a gallon.

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Crude Oil Futures Squeeze Out Gain to Five-Week High

Oil futures eked out a gain Wednesday, setting another five-week high, as traders shrugged off a bigger-than-expected rise in crude-oil inventories.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 24 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $96.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Feb. 19. Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe settled 33 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $109.69 a barrel.

Crude oil spent most of the day in negative territory after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil stockpiles rose 3.3 million barrels last week, above the 700,000-barrel gain projected by analysts in a Dow Jones Newswires survey.

Meanwhile, stockpiles at the key U.S. hub of Cushing, Okla., rose 500,000 barrels, reversing recent declines that had signaled to traders that a supply glut there was drifting.

Still, the gains were muted by a drop in gasoline and distillate stockpiles and an increase in refinery activity, suggesting higher demand from refineries to produce to fuel. Prices scrapped their losses through the afternoon to notch a fourth straight session of gains.

"We've had a couple big days to the upside," said Peter Donovan, vice president at Vantage Trading in New York. "Today's sell-off was pretty meager and maybe guys read into it that this isn't ready to give anything back."

Gasoline stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels last week. Stocks of distillates, including heating oil and diesel, tumbled by 4.5 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose 2.2 percentage points to 85.7% of capacity.

Analysts had expected gasoline stocks to fall just 900,000 barrels and distillate inventories to give up 600,000 barrels. Refinery runs were seen rising a modest 0.3 points.

With Wednesday's gain, Nymex crude prices are up 6.5% so far in March, helped by expectations that a supply glut in the central U.S. had begun to ease and bring U.S. prices back in line with global benchmarks like Brent.

The gap between the two crudes has shrunk to around $13 a barrel, down from more than $23 in February. But Wednesday's reported inventory increase at Cushing--the Nymex delivery point--has undermined expectations that the supply glut was resolved.

"The Brent-[WTI] move continues to be a powerful factor in the market," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president of energy futures at Jefferies Bache.

Front-month April reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 0.49 cent, or 0.2%, higher at $3.1155 a gallon. April heating oil settled 3.41 cents, or 1.2%, higher at $3.1155 a gallon.

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Crude Oil Futures Squeeze Out Gain to Five-Week High

Oil futures eked out a gain Wednesday, setting another five-week high, as traders shrugged off a bigger-than-expected rise in crude-oil inventories.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 24 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $96.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Feb. 19. Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe settled 33 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $109.69 a barrel.

Crude oil spent most of the day in negative territory after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil stockpiles rose 3.3 million barrels last week, above the 700,000-barrel gain projected by analysts in a Dow Jones Newswires survey.

Meanwhile, stockpiles at the key U.S. hub of Cushing, Okla., rose 500,000 barrels, reversing recent declines that had signaled to traders that a supply glut there was drifting.

Still, the gains were muted by a drop in gasoline and distillate stockpiles and an increase in refinery activity, suggesting higher demand from refineries to produce to fuel. Prices scrapped their losses through the afternoon to notch a fourth straight session of gains.

"We've had a couple big days to the upside," said Peter Donovan, vice president at Vantage Trading in New York. "Today's sell-off was pretty meager and maybe guys read into it that this isn't ready to give anything back."

Gasoline stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels last week. Stocks of distillates, including heating oil and diesel, tumbled by 4.5 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose 2.2 percentage points to 85.7% of capacity.

Analysts had expected gasoline stocks to fall just 900,000 barrels and distillate inventories to give up 600,000 barrels. Refinery runs were seen rising a modest 0.3 points.

With Wednesday's gain, Nymex crude prices are up 6.5% so far in March, helped by expectations that a supply glut in the central U.S. had begun to ease and bring U.S. prices back in line with global benchmarks like Brent.

The gap between the two crudes has shrunk to around $13 a barrel, down from more than $23 in February. But Wednesday's reported inventory increase at Cushing--the Nymex delivery point--has undermined expectations that the supply glut was resolved.

"The Brent-[WTI] move continues to be a powerful factor in the market," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president of energy futures at Jefferies Bache.

Front-month April reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 0.49 cent, or 0.2%, higher at $3.1155 a gallon. April heating oil settled 3.41 cents, or 1.2%, higher at $3.1155 a gallon.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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