Oil rose above $75 per barrel on Thursday, boosted by better-than-expected US jobless data and a draw on US crude stocks. Crude stocks fell by 4.96 million barrels last week, a weekly Energy Information Administration report showed, more than analysts polled by Reuters had expected.
"Today's data should reinforce the bullish short-term undertone for the energy complex," said Chris Jarvis of Caprock Risk Management in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Oil prices rose in tandem with equities markets, on solid earnings from key retail chains, and after US Labour Department data on Thursday showed jobless claims fell more than expected last week, to their lowest level in two months.
US crude oil futures for August delivery settled at $75.44 per barrel, up $1.37. That takes two-day gains to $3.46 per barrel, a 4.8 percent rise - the biggest two-day percentage gain since June 9-10. Prices rose as much as $1.83 to $75.90 a barrel earlier, the highest intraday price since June 30. ICE Brent crude for August rose $1.04 to $74.55.
Oil prices in New York were still well below their 19-month peak which hit above $87 reached in early May, although they have rebounded sharply from a trough below $65 on May 20. Some of the bullish sentiment was tempered by EIA data which also showed US gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose by 1.32 million barrels last week, although distillate fuel stocks rose a less-than-expected 321,000 barrels.
The International Monetary Fund raised its 2010 global growth forecast on Thursday, citing an expansion in Asia and in US private sector demand. The IMF raised its 2010 global output growth forecast to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent after a fall of 0.6 percent in 2009. The IMF said a double-dip recession was unlikely which provided oil with a boost.
The US National Hurricane Center said a tropical depression headed for the western Gulf of Mexico was not likely to become a tropical storm, following warnings the depression could intensify. Tropical storms can disrupt oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and force the closure of facilities used to import crude oil. The inventory draw reported by the EIA was in part spurred by Hurricane Alex, which last week battered northern Mexico.
A tropical storm warning in place for the lower Rio Grande valley along the border was expected to be lifted later in the day. Oil inventories at the key US Cushing, Oklahoma, crude oil hub fell 353,762 barrels in the week to July 6 to 38.9 million barrels, figures from energy industry data provider Genscape showed on Thursday.
The EIA said Cushing crude stocks fell by 184,000 barrels in the week to July 2. Cushing is the delivery point of the NYMEX oil futures contracts, and when inventories are high it tends to weigh on the front months of the futures curve relative to the back. On Wednesday, the EIA raised its 2010 world oil demand growth forecast by 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its previous estimate. The EIA now expects oil demand to climb by 1.56 million bpd in 2010 to 85.82 million bpd.
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