Crude Oil Ends Above $102 After Supply Data

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil ended higher on Wednesday, after the official U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly oil report showed a less-than-expected increase in inventories for the week ended February 21. Gains were capped by a strong dollar amid concerns about the U.S. economy and supply disruptions from North Africa, where certain Libyan oilfields have been shut down.

Earlier today, data from the Energy Information Administration revealed U.S. crude oil inventories to have moved up by 0.1 million barrels in the week ended February 21, while analysts expected a rise of 1.5 million barrels. Gasoline stocks unexpectedly dipped by 2.8 million barrels last week, with analysts anticipating a decline of 1.5 million barrels.

In economic news, a Commerce Department report on Wednesday showed new home sales to have rebounded unexpectedly in January, after reporting a notable drop in the previous month. Meanwhile, U.S. mortgage applications to buy a home fell last week to its lowest level in nearly two decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a smaller than expected rise in US crude oil inventories late Tuesday.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.76 or 0.8 percent to close at $102.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Crude prices for April delivery scaled a high of $102.90 a barrel intraday and a low of $101.58.

Natural gas for April dropped $0.15 or 3.2 percent, to close at $4.54 per mBtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas prices for April delivery, scaled a high of $4.685 per mBtu intraday and a low of $4.483.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.46 on Wednesday, up from its previous close of 80.14 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.52 intraday and a low of 80.09.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3679 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3746 late Tuesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3760 intraday and a low of $1.3662.

In economic news, a Commerce Department report showed new home sales in the U.S. jumped 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 in January from an upwardly revised December rate of 427,000. Economists expected new home sales to drop to an annual rate of 400,000 from the 414,000 originally reported for the previous month. Sales was at its highest level since July 2008.

U.S. mortgage applications dropped last week to its lowest level since 2000, a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed. The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 8.5 percent to 348.5 in the week ended February 21.

Germany's consumer confidence is set to improve to a seven-year high in March, reflecting upbeat income expectations amid stable labor market development, a closely watched survey from the market research group GfK showed Wednesday. The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose to 8.5 points from 8.3 points in February. The index was forecast to remain unchanged at February's original score of 8.2.