Oil Prices - July 10

[dan_s]

Brent crude slipped towards $107 on concerns about weakness in the recovery of China, the world's second biggest oil consumer, while U.S. crude turned higher after data showed a bigger-than-expected fall in crude oil stocks.

[dan_s]

The crude oil complex traded sharply higher throughout the morning hours, supported by prospects for a drawdown in crude oil inventories. This morning's EIA inventory data showed a much larger than expected decline in supply last week of 9.874 million barrels. Some of that decline came from a pullback in import activity, which stood at 7.525 million barrels per day. The refinery operating rate was up 0.2% to 92.4%. Another supportive force in this morning's report was the unexpected decline in gasoline stocks. Some traders were also encouraged by the improvement in US gasoline demand. Average total gasoline demand for the past four weeks was up 2.46% compared to last year.