http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-rises-on-better-than-expected-economic-data
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose Thursday for a fourth straight session, moving above $64 a barrel after government data showed U.S. inventories fell for the third week in a row as the nation imported less oil and as demand for gasoline picked up.
Crude inventories declined by 5.4 million barrels in the week ended May 22, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts surveyed by energy-information provider Platts had expected stockpiles to show an increase of 1.8 million barrels.
Meanwhile, gasoline production averaged nearly 9.4 million barrels a day last week, up from 8.7 million barrels in the week ended May 15, as the nation entered into the post-Memorial Day driving season. The EIA also said gasoline inventories fell by 600,000 barrels last week.
After the data, crude for July delivery rose $1.14, or 1.8%, to $64.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It tipped the $65.99 mark earlier.
Oil had been on the rise in the previous three sessions. It ended Wednesday's trading at the highest level since Nov. 5.
"We should expect crude stocks to decline further although inventories levels are still above normal," said James Williams, economist at energy research firm WTRG Economics. "The gasoline refinery numbers are encouraging."
U.S. refineries ran at 85.1% of their operable capacity last week, up sharply from 81.8% in the prior week.
The EIA, part of the Energy Department, also reported that distillate stockpiles, which include heating oil and diesel, rose 300,000 barrels last week.
Crude inventories at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for Nymex oil futures, rose 1.1 million barrels to stand at 30.7 million barrels.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, had reported after the close of trading Wednesday that crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels. The EIA and the API use different criteria for gauging inventory levels.
Rounding out the trading in energy futures, June-dated reformulated gasoline rose 0.2% to $1.8955 a gallon, while June heating oil gained 2% to $1.5927 a gallon.
Natural gas for July delivery jumped 7% to reach $3.888 per million British thermal units.
U.S. natural-gas inventories rose 106 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 22, the EIA reported Thursday. Analysts surveyed by Platts had expected an increase between 108 billion cubic feet and 113 billion cubic feet.
In oil exchange-traded funds, the United States Oil Fund /quotes/comstock/13*!uso/quotes/nls/uso (USO 35.64, +1.06, +3.06%) gained 2.3% to $35.39. Tracking energy equities, the Amex Oil Index /quotes/comstock/10t!xoi.x (XOI 970.77, +30.72, +3.27%) rose 2.3% to 962.
Economic data
Also pushing oil prices higher Thursday, a pair of U.S. government reports showed that the number of new layoffs declined last week and that durable-goods orders rose more than predicted last month.
The number of new layoffs declined by 13,000 to 623,000 last week, while the number of people collecting state unemployment benefits rose by 110,000 to a record 6.79 million, the Labor Department reported. See Economic Report.