Crude Oil Rises a Second Day on U.S. Home Sales Growth, Crude Stockpile Decline

Oil gained for a second day in New York after U.S. home sales rose and an industry funded report showed a decline in the country’s gasoline inventories, bolstering optimism that the economic recovery will accelerate. Oil advanced as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed after pending sales of existing homes rose to the highest level since October.

The American Petroleum Institute said last week’s gasoline supplies fell to the lowest this year. “The flow of data from the U.S. is still on the positive side, suggesting recovery,” said Toby Hassall, commodity analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “If we start to see inventories decline in line with their seasonal pattern then that should offer support to the market.”

Crude oil for July delivery increased as much as $1.03, or 1.4 percent, to $73.89 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $73.77 at 1:36 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $72.86. The S&P 500 increased 2.6 percent yesterday. That has pushed Asia stocks higher today with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbing the most since February. The index of pending U.S. home sales gained 6 percent after they were projected to rise 5 percent in April, according to the median of 40 forecasts in the Bloomberg survey.

“The economic numbers out of the U.S. have been improving gradually this month,” said Serene Lim, an energy commodity strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. “Yesterday’s API data was quite encouraging. We’ll have to see if the Department of Energy numbers match that, especially if the Cushing inventories fall”....Read the entire article.

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