Oil prices higher after US data

LONDON (AFP) — Oil prices gained ground on Thursday as the market digested the latest stockpiles data in leading consumer the United States which traders said was supportive overall.
The price of London's Brent North Sea crude for August delivery rose 41 cents to 68.74 dollars per barrel.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for August, gained 33 cents to 69.00 dollars.
"It's all about gasoline (petrol) at the moment," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
The US Department of Energy said Wednesday that inventories of gasoline jumped 3.9 million barrels in the week ending June 19, compared to expectations for a gain of one million barrels.
Crude stockpiles, however, dropped by 3.8 million barrels, steeper than the 1.3 million barrels expected by most analysts.
"A mixed enough report but somewhat supportive for crude," Kryuchenkov noted, adding: "We are still pleased to see stable gasoline demand."
Oil also got support on the back of a weaker US currency, which makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies and therefore tends to stimulate demand and push prices higher.
Conflicting signals about the strength of a recovery for the global economy have led to volatile swings in oil prices recently, with some analysts saying they have risen too fast while underlying demand is weak.
Crude oil plunged from record peaks of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to about 32 dollars in December as the economic downturn hit but the market has since won back some ground on recovery hopes.


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