Crude futures rise another 2%, tracking stock gains
26 February 2009
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Crude-oil futures rose to trade above $43 a barrel Thursday, buoyed by a decline in gasoline inventories as well as an impending higher open on Wall Street.
Crude for April delivery gained 87 cents, or 2%, to $43.35 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. On Wednesday, oil futures rallied more than 6%.
The U.S. gasoline consumption during the past four weeks rose 1.7% from a year ago, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. Gasoline inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 20, more than analysts surveyed by Platts had expected.
Also in energy trading, March reformulated gasoline gained 3 cents to $1.20 a gallon and March heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.25 a gallon. Both contracts will expire at the end of trading on Feb. 27.
Meanwhile, natural gas for April delivery added 2 cents to stand at $4.04 per million British thermal units.
The EIA will report data on natural-gas supplies at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. IHS Global Insight is projecting a storage withdrawal of 145 billion cubic feet for the week ended Feb. 20.
