Rising US refinery runs lend support to oil prices
3/3/2016 12:00:00 AM
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, March 3 (Reuters) -- US crude prices were steady early on Thursday supported by rising refining activity while swelling crude stocks weighed, but analysts said that a 20-month market rout had likely bottomed out.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $34.68/bbl at 0058 GMT, virtually unchanged from their last settlement.
Analysts said that the minimal price movement on Thursday was due to bullish and bearish fundamentals offsetting each other.
"Crude oil prices were sideways. Rising US refinery utilisation is supporting prices. But US crude stockpiles continue to rise ... Oil inventories rose 2%, or 10.4 million bbl, to 517.98 million bbl," ANZ bank said on Thursday.
More broadly, many analysts think that a 20-month market rout that has pulled down crude prices by 70% may have ended.
Reuters technical analysts Wang Tao said that US crude prices had ended a multi-year downtrend this week and that WTI prices would target prices above $40/bbl in March.
"The price action in oil adds to the case that the bottom in the crude oil market could now be in place for 2016," ANZ said.
WTI has gained over a third in value since Feb. 11, when prices dropped to little more than $26/bbl, levels not seen since 2003.
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford)
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