Oil rises as traders weigh growing stockpiles against OPEC cuts

Bloomberg

Oil rose in New York as investors weighed a surprise increase in US stockpiles against OPEC-led efforts to reduce the global oversupply. Futures added 0.5 percent, extending the 6.8 percent gain of the previous seven sessions. US output rose for a seventh week and inventories expanded to a fresh record, government data showed Wednesday.
The increase in US stockpiles is reviving concern they’ll counter output curbs led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil rallied back above $50 a barrel a week ago after some OPEC nations supported a possible extension to their six-month deal, while production halts in the UK North Sea and Canada have since helped bolster prices. OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said Sunday he’s “cautiously optimistic that the market is already rebalancing.”
“Market players will continue to focus on inventory changes as well as OPEC and non-OPEC compliance,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG. “Investors are in a wait-and-see mode, on the lookout for the next material decline in OECD oil inventories.”
West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was at $51.41 a barrel, up 26 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:42 a.m. local time. Total volume traded was about 21 percent below the 100-day average.
The contract gained 12 cents to $51.15. Brent for June settlement rose 0.6 percent to $54.71 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after climbing 19 cents to $54.36 on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.85 to WTI for June.
US crude production increased by 52,000 barrels to 9.2 million barrels a day last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. The nation’s output has expanded every week since February, the longest run of gains since March 2015. Inventories rose 1.6 million barrels to 535.5 million barrels, the highest level in weekly EIA data compiled since 1982.