As traders await the most recent U.S. inventory data, which could provide insight into how petrol demand is holding up this summer, crude oil futures increased on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s decline in oil prices coincided with a pause in the current surge, but for the month, West Texas Intermediate and Brent are up 5.9% and 4.9%, respectively, as analysts predict increased summer fuel consumption following a weak start to the year.
Below are the current energy prices:
August contract for West Texas Intermediate is $81.53 per barrel, up 0.87%, or 70 cents. US oil has increased 13.8% so far this year.
Brent August contract: up 65 cents, or 0.76%, to $85.66 per barrel. The worldwide benchmark is ahead 11.2% so far this year.
RBOB Gasoline July contract: 0.76% increase to $2.53 per gallon. Petrol prices have increased by 20.5% so far this year.
July contract for natural gas: $2.71 per gallon, a decrease of 1.74%. Gas is ahead 7.7% so far this year.
The Department of Energy is scheduled to disclose statistics on U.S. oil and petrol inventories at 10:30 am, and traders are awaiting confirmation that demand is firming from this data.
Source (CNBC)
