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Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent with U.S. crude futures returning to above $40 a barrel, after a larger-than-expected gasoline draw offset a surprise build in crude stockpiles in the No. 1 oil consumer.<\/strong><\/p>\n U.S. crude inventories rose for a second week in a row, gaining 1.4 million barrels last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 1.4 million barrels, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed.<\/p>\n Gasoline stocks slumped by 3.3 million barrels, versus forecasts for a 200,000-barrel drop. The large draw assuaged some market participants’ worry of a gasoline glut amid the peak U.S. summer driving season.<\/p>\n U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 settled up $1.32, or 3.3 percent, at $40.83 a barrel. On Tuesday, it settled below $40 a barrel for the first time since April.<\/p>\n Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.30, or 3.1 percent, to settle at $43.10. It hit a more than three-month low of $41.51 the previous day.<\/p>\n “We are not surprised to see spot prices rebounding on the gasoline draw,” said Tariq Zahir, trader in crude oil spreads at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. “But I think this will be short-lived.”<\/p>\n “The bottom line is the Street in the second quarter got a little ahead of itself in calling for rebalancing of supply-demand after Canadian and Nigerian supply disruptions. We are going into the third and fourth quarters with those supplies back online and refinery maintenance coming up.”<\/p>\n Oil rallied from 12-year lows of $26-$27 in the first quarter to almost $53 in June, boosted initially by expectations, later dashed, that OPEC would freeze output and later by supply outages.<\/p>\n But a worldwide oversupply since in motor fuels and other refined products has stymied the rebound. Worries about slowing economies in Asia – the driver of oil demand growth – and Europe have weighed, along with near record-high OPEC output and signs of a new price war by Saudi Arabia for crude.<\/p>\n Troy Vincent, analyst at New York-based oil cargo tracker ClipperData, said while last week’s gasoline draw was a relief, the rise in crude stocks despite a near 1 percent growth in refinery utilization was a “bigger concern”.<\/p>\n The global glut has led many traders to predict lower prices going forth.<\/p>\n “We expect to see a little bit of price consolidation from here but our target really is for $35 WTI, which means any rebound you get will be more of a bear market correction,” said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive of Tuttle Tactical Management in Riverside, Connecticut.<\/p>\n Goldman Sachs held its 2017 forecast of $52.50 and near-term range of $45-$50 for WTI. But it noted that oil’s recent decline came amid supportive factors like the dollar weakening .DXY and refining margins for gasoline 1RBc1-CLc1 widening.<\/p>\n “It will take a strong reversal in positioning to create substantial new upside,” Goldman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oil up 3 percent on big U.S. gasoline draw; WTI back above $40 Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent with U.S. crude futures returning to above $40 a barrel, after a larger-than-expected gasoline draw offset a surprise build in crude stockpiles in the No. 1 oil consumer. U.S. crude inventories rose for a second …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":65007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-te-public"],"yoast_head":"\n