Crude Oil Futures Show Signs of Rebounding as Settlements Rise on Wednesday

Crude prices settled higher on Wednesday as government data showed a decline in domestic oil production despite competing forecasts, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

August West Texas Intermediate crude added 50 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $44.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking a fifth consecutive increase.

August Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 66 cents, or 1.4%, to end trading at $47.31 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that total domestic crude oil production fell by 100,000 barrels a day to 9.25 million barrels a day for the week ending June 23.

The EIA reported that U.S. crude supplies were up by 100,000 barrels last week. That defied forecasts for a decline of 3.25 million barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, but came in below the increase of 851,000 barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute.

With Tropical Storm Cindy striking the Gulf of Mexico last week, most analysts expected the weather disruption to prompt a decline in domestic crude stockpiles.

Gasoline stockpiles fell by 900,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles also decreased by 200,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast a decline of 900,000 barrels for gasoline and a climb of 500,000 barrels for distillates, which include heating oil.

July natural gas, which expired at Wednesday’s settlement, settled at $3.067 per million British thermal units, up 3 cents, or 1%. August natural gas ended at $3.094 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.