Oil halts slide near $45 as US crude stockpiles decline

Bloomberg

Oil held near $45 a barrel as U.S. industry data showed a drop in crude stockpiles, paring a surplus in the world’s largest fuel consumer.
Futures were little changed in New York after dropping 1.3 percent Tuesday to a two-month low. Inventories declined by 2.3 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. While government data Wednesday is forecast to show supplies fell for a ninth week, stockpiles will still be more than 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.
Oil has fluctuated between about $44 and $52 a barrel since early June after almost doubling from a 12-year low in February as supply disruptions and falling U.S. output trim a global surplus. Prices should rebound to about $60 a barrel next year and accelerate the return of drilling rigs, Pioneer Natural Resources Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said in Washington.
“North America has experienced the largest production declines,” Barclays Plc analyst Miswin Mahesh in London said in a report. “The oil market is on the cusp of re-balancing within the next year.”
West Texas Intermediate for August delivery, which expires Wednesday, was 8 cents lower at $44.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 9:08 a.m. London time. Prices fell 59 cents to $44.65 on Tuesday, the lowest close since May 9. The more-active September future was 3 cents lower at $45.42. Total volume traded was about 37 percent below the 100-day average.

U.S. Stockpiles
Brent for September settlement was 3 cents higher at $46.69 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract closed 0.6 percent lower at $46.66 on Tuesday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $1.24 to WTI for September.
Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest oil-storage hub, dropped by 84,000 barrels last week, the API said Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the figures. Nationwide supplies probably fell by 2 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey before the EIA report on Wednesday.