Crude Oil Ends Below $49 As Supplies Surge

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil ended lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, on renewed concerns of a supply glut after an official weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have surged more than expected last week.

Earlier today, a weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude oil inventories to have jumped 4.9 million barrels in the week ended February 6, while analysts expected an increase of 3.4 million barrels. The report showed U.S. crude oil inventories at 417.9 million barrels end last week.

Gasoline stocks increased by 2.0 million barrels last week, while analysts anticipated a gain of 0.2 million barrels. Inventories of distillate, including heating fuel, increased 3.3 million barrels.

Industry group the American Petroleum Institute said its data showed that U.S. crude stocks rose by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 6.

Markets continue to remain oversupplied despite signs that U.S. and Canadian producers are cutting output and scaling back major projects after the recent collapse in oil prices.

Oil, which was above $100 last summer, has steadied in February after plunging to 6-year lows near $44 in January.

Oil was boosted earlier in the week when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast demand for the cartel's oil to average 29.21 million barrels per day in 2015, up 430,000 barrels per day from its previous forecast.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for March delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $1.18 or 2.4 percent to settle at $48.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Crude prices for March delivery scaled a high of $51.14 a barrel intraday and a low of $48.05.

On Tuesday, crude oil settled sharply lower at $50.02, down $2.84 or 5.3 percent, after the International Energy Agency warned that global supplies will continue to rise.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 95.01 on Wednesday, up from its previous close of 94.74 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 95.12 intraday and a low of 94.64.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.1296 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.1321 late Tuesday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.1333 intraday and a low of $1.1281.

In economic news, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said on Tuesday that the U.K economy advanced at an accelerated rate in the November to January period. The think tank estimates that the GDP grew 0.7 percent in the three months ended January after the 0.5 percent increase in the three months ended December.

The German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, or DIHK, on Wednesday raised Germany's growth forecast for this year indicating lower oil prices and a weaker euro to have improved business sentiment. The growth forecast for this year was raised to 1.3 percent from 0.8 percent projected in October.

France's current account turned to a deficit in December from a surplus in the previous month, as the visible trade shortfall widened on the back of higher volume of oil imports, data from the Bank of France showed Wednesday.

The current account showed a deficit of EUR 1.9 billion versus a surplus of EUR 0.3 billion in November. The goods trade surplus widened to EUR 1.9 billion from EUR 1 billion, while the surplus in the services trade fell to EUR 0.1 billion from EUR 1.4 billion.