Yahoo Finance Crude Oil Recovers and Inches up Higher on Tuesday
How Did the Upbeat Home Sales Data Affect Commodities on May 24?
Crude oil inches up higher
After trading weaker in the early morning hours on Tuesday, crude oil recovered and inched up higher. At 1:24 PM Eastern time, WTI crude futures contracts for July delivery were trading at $48.57 per barrel, a gain of 1.0%. Brent crude was trading at $48.63 per barrel, a gain of 0.58%.
Market awaits American Petroleum Institute inventory data
The crude oil market is looking forward to the API’s (American Petroleum Institute) weekly crude oil inventory data for the week ended on May 20. Last week, the API reported there was a drawdown of 1.1 million barrels from the crude oil inventory. Several market analysts are expecting a drawdown in the API report scheduled for release at 4:35 PM Eastern time today. Whereas S&P Global Platts’s analyst poll forecasts a drawdown of 3.3 million barrels, Reuters’s preliminary poll forecasts a drop of 2.5 million barrels in crude oil stocks to 538.8 million barrels.
Strong US economic data supports the sentiment
The better-than-expected US new home sales data also improved the energy sector sentiment. According to the data released by the US Department of Commerce at 10:00 AM Eastern time today, the new home sales for April surged by 16.6%. On the other hand, the supply disruptions subsided in Canadian oil fields and Libya, which has supported the crude oil prices in the recent weeks. To learn how crude oil traded in the early morning, please read Market Realist’s article, Crude Oil Remains Weak on Tuesday Morning, May 24.
At 2:00 PM Eastern time, crude oil producer Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) fell by 1.5%, whereas Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), BP (BP), and Total (TOT) gained 0.13%, 1.1%, and 1.3%, respectively. The ETF SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF (XOP) gained 0.45%.
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