(Corrects to say EIA, not IEA, in comment in paragraph 6)
By Aaron Sheldrick
TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday
after steep falls in the previous session, although U.S. crude
trailed gains for international benchmark Brent after U.S. crude
inventories fell less than expected.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 6 cents
at $57.68 by 0327 GMT, having fallen 3.3% on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 25 cents at $64.60, or
0.4%. They ended down 3.2% in the previous session.
Crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week to
July 12 to 460 million, industry group the American Petroleum
Institute (API) said on Tuesday. That compared with analysts'
expectations for a decrease of 2.7 million barrels. Official data is due out later today from the U.S.
government's Energy Information Administration (EIA). If it
confirms the fall it will be the fifth consecutive weekly
decline, the longest stretch since the beginning of 2018.
"Market participants are looking ahead to the weekly EIA oil
inventory data for the U.S., which is expected to show yet
another drawdown," Abhishek Kumar, head of analytics at Interfax
Energy in London.
"Nevertheless, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico
returning to normal following Hurricane Barry will limit price
gains," Kumar said.
More than half the daily crude production in the U.S. Gulf
of Mexico remained offline on Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane
Barry, the U.S. drilling regulator said, as most oil companies
were re-staffing facilities to resume production.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said 1.1
million barrels per day of oil, or 58% of the region's total,
and 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output
remained shut. The smaller than expected decline in crude stocks suggested
production shut-ins caused by Hurricane Barry late last week had
little impact on inventories.
Gasoline stocks also fell, declining by 476,000 barrels,
compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a
925,000-barrel decline.
Distillate fuels stockpiles, which include diesel and
heating oil, rose by 6.2 million barrels, compared with
expectations for a 613,000-barrel gain, the API data showed.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump
said progress has been made with Iran, signalling tensions could
ease in the Mideast.
However, Iran later denied it was willing to negotiate over
its ballistic missile program, contradicting a claim by U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and appearing to undercut
Trump's statement. Tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran's
nuclear program have lent support to oil futures, given the
potential for a price spike should the situation deteriorate.
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U.S. crude inventories, weekly changes since 2017 png https://tmsnrt.rs/2XlX17b
TECHNICALS-Brent oil may retest support at $63.84 L4N24I0BQ
TECHNICALS-U.S. oil may retest support at $56.98 L4N24I0NL
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