Crude Oil Up In Asia After API Estimates Show Larger Than Expected Drop

Investing.com – Crude oil prices gained in Asia on Wednesday after industry estimates showed a sharper drop than expected in US crude stocks and the market looked ahead to official figures.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for January delivery rose 0.21% to $57.68 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, gained 0.11% at $63.88 a barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that US crude stocks fell by 5.222 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories rose by 2 million barrels and distillate stocks dipped 2.9 million barrels.

Analysts estimated that crude stocks were down 3.769 million barrels, with a 870,000 barrels drop in distillates and a 1.895 million barrels build in gasoline seen. The API estimates will be followed by official figures from the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Overnight, prices settled higher on Tuesday as investors mulled over the prospect of fresh Middle East supply disruptions amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region after reports Saudi air defences intercepted a missile fired at Riyadh.

Rising Middle East geopolitical tensions raised the prospect of supply disruptions after reports suggested that a missile was fired at Riyadh from Yemen.

“Coalition forces confirm intercepting an Iranian-Houthi missile targeting (the) south of Riyadh. There are no reported casualties at this time,” the government-run Center for International Communication wrote on its Twitter account.

Reports of the missile launch come as investors digested an update from operator of the Forties pipeline Ineos who said Tuesday that the timeframe for the fix remained two to four weeks starting from Dec. 11, the date of the shutdown.

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