re: 12:48 pm wpl reports net profit : jazzmox
Oil Trades Below $60 a Second Day as Stockpiles May Have Risen Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded below $60 for a second day as rising U.S. inventories eased concern about supplies before the peak summer motoring season. Gasoline futures traded near their lowest in almost a year.
A U.S. government report today will probably show gasoline stockpiles gained for a seventh week and crude oil supplies rose, according to a Bloomberg survey. U.S. refineries are processing less crude as they begin maintenance to prepare for the May-to- September summer gasoline demand.
``Even considering higher demand, there's been a rapid growth in gasoline stockpiles,'' said Makoto Takeda, an energy analyst at Iriya Bansei Securities Co. in Tokyo.
Crude oil for March delivery fell as much as 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $59.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have declined 12 percent this month and yesterday fell below $60 for the first time in 2006.
It traded at $59.49 at 10:13 a.m. Singapore time, or 26 percent higher than a year ago.
Gasoline for March delivery was at $1.3855 in after-hours trading, after plunging 4.63 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $1.3849 a gallon yesterday, the lowest price since Feb. 28, 2005.
A warm winter has cut fuel needs, leaving U.S. inventories higher. New York City had its third-warmest January since records started in 1869, according to the U.S. government.
Heating Demand
Even with a blizzard striking much of the Northeastern U.S. this week and dumping a record level of snow in New York City, prices of oil and fuels fell as investors and traders bet excess supplies built up over the mild winter would meet the temporary demand for heating fuels.
``Right now demand is not up to par,'' said Tom Bentz, an oil broker with BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. ``We're continuing to see'' an increase in inventories.
Heating demand will remain 3 percent less than normal in the U.S. Northeast in the coming week, according to forecasters Weather Derivatives. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably declined by 1 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Crude oil inventories probably gained 1 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 10 from 320.7 million the prior week. Gasoline stockpiles probably rose 1.6 million barrels from 223.3 million.
Global Supply
The International Energy Agency last week said global oil production capacity is growing faster than demand.
Capacity held by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may increase by 1 million barrels a day this year, while non-OPEC output may climb 1.2 million barrels, the IEA said on Feb. 10. That may add to calls for OPEC to cut production when the group next meets on March 8 to review output.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's oil, on Jan. 31 agreed to keep its official production ceiling for all members except Iraq at 28 million barrels a day, close to a 26-year high.
``With oil at this price level, we can definitely expect a cut in output,'' Iriya Bansei's Takeda said. ``OPEC was only barred from doing so previously because of higher prices.''
Data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that hedge funds and large speculators last week reversed bets on the New York Mercantile Exchange and now are waging crude prices will slide. Shorts, or bets prices will fall, outnumbered longs by 539 contracts the week ended Feb. 7, compared with net-longs, or bets prices would rise, of 19,970 contracts the previous week.
Options contracts to sell the commodity near $60 was a factor in pushing prices lower, Iriya Bansei's Takeda said.
``Many put options were liquidated at $60 and that accelerated the decline,'' he said.
WPL Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
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