http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN1360218920110413
NYMEX-Crude rises as U.S. gasoline stocks plunge
Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:56pm GMT
* U.S. gasoline stocks plunge, crude up -EIA
* Dollar bounce limits gains by crude
* Coming up: U.S. jobless claims data, 8:30 a.m. Thursday
NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended
higher on Wednesday after diving nearly 6 percent in two days,
led by gasoline gains fuelled by government inventory data
showing the biggest drop in stocks since 1998.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell 7 million barrels last week as
refiners lower capacity utilization 3 percentage points and
emptied winter-grade gasoline inventories to make room for
summer blends, data from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration showed. [EIA/S]
The EIA said crude stocks rose 1.6 million barrels, more
than the 1.0-million-barrel rise expected, while distillate
stocks fell 1.7 million barrels, against an expectation
supplies would be marginally higher.
Front-month May RBOB gasoline futures RBK1 surged more
than 2 percent and May heating oil HOK1 also settled higher.
Traders and analysts said crude briefly came under pressure
when the dollar index .DXY bounced on expectations President
Barack Obama's deficit cutting proposals would be supportive to
the greenback, but ultimately ended near the day's high.
Crude futures found support in the area near Wednesday's
$105.31 intraday low, which was near the area of resistance
around the $106 level on crude's recent rally above $113 a
barrel and Tuesday's intraday low of $105.47.
Trading volume topped 900,000 lots for a second day, more
than a third above the 30-day average after a sharp slow-down
in activity in the latter half of March.
FUNDAMENTALS
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude CLK1
rose 86 cents, or 0.81 percent, to settle at $107.11, trading
from $105.31 to $107.43.
* President Barack Obama proposed cutting the U.S. budget
deficit by $4 trillion in 12 years or less. [ID:nN12216395]
* U.S. retail sales posted their smallest gain in nine
months in March, as auto sales plunged and consumers felt the
sting of higher gas prices. [ID:nN13249074]
* The U.S. economy continued to improve over the past month
on gains in manufacturing but companies are feeling the effects
of higher energy and raw material costs, the U.S. Federal
Reserve said in its Beige Book summary. [ID:nN13282942]
* A group of Western powers and Middle Eastern states
called for the first time for Muammar Gaddafi to step aside,
but NATO countries squabbled publicly over stepping up air
strikes to help topple him. [ID:nLDE73B27Q]
* Rival Yemeni forces clashed, killing five, as the
opposition awaited clarification from Gulf Arab mediators on
the timeframe for a proposed transfer of the president's
powers. [ID:nLDE73C0OE]
* Kuwait temporarily halted oil export operations due to
bad weather, an oil sector spokesman said. [ID:nLDE73C06D]
* Hundreds of women from a Syrian town that has witnessed
mass arrests of its men marched along Syria's main coastal
highway to demand their release. [ID:nLDE73C0VU]
