Reply #4: Oil Prices Stay Near $60 on Supply Data [View All]

[ozymandius]

VIENNA, Austria - Crude-oil prices held near $60 a barrel Thursday after the U.S. government released data that showed rising supplies of oil and gasoline, but hinted that gasoline demand could soon rise.

Relatively mild temperatures in the U.S. Northeast and recovering refinery capacities also helped contain prices, even though they rose slightly.

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In its weekly petroleum supply report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels last week to 319.1 million barrels, or 12 percent above year-ago levels. Gasoline inventories grew by 1 million barrels to 196.9 million barrels, or 3 percent below year-earlier levels.

The EIA data also showed that average daily gasoline demand over the past four weeks was 1.7 percent below year-ago levels. However, the gap is narrowing because consumption has been rising week to week since the start of October.

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