Crude oil futures rose Wednesday as investors wait for the latest U.S. inventory data for indications of how gasoline demand is holding up as summer wears on.
Oil prices pulled back Tuesday as the recent rally paused, but West Texas Intermediate advanced 5.9% and Brent is ahead 4.9% for the month as analysts expect summer fuel demand to pick up after a soft start to the season.
The West Texas Intermediate August contract is situated at $81.53 per barrel, up 70 cents, or 0.87%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained 13.8%.
Brent August contract is up 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $85.66 per barrel. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 11.2%.
RBOB Gasoline July contract: $2.53 per gallon, up 0.76%. Year to date, gasoline has gained 20.5%.
Natural Gas July contract is listed at $2.71 per thousand cubic feet, down 1.74%. Year to date, gas is ahead 7.7%.
Traders are waiting for confirmation that demand is firming from the latest U.S. oil and gasoline inventory data, which the Department of Energy had scheduled to release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Analysts are expecting that U.S. oil inventories fell 2.9 million barrels, and gas inventories by one million barrels, last week, according to a Reuters poll.
