Front-month crude futures on NYMEX hit an all-time high of $78.79/barrel Wednesday shortly ahead of the release of US weekly oil data.
Analysts polled by Platts were expecting a 2.5 million barrel drop in US crude stocks for the week ending September 7. Shrugging off OPEC's decision Tuesday to boost actual output 500,000 b/d and downward revisions in global demand growth by the International Energy Agency, prices continued to probe fresh levels.
The contract subsequently traded up to an intra-day high of $78.99/b for a gain of 76 cents on the session. Expectations for tight balances in the fourth quarter, traditionally the highest demand period of the year, have kept oil prices on an upward trajectory.
Non-commercials, primarily comprising hedge funds, have shown an insatiable appetite for crude futures contracts. Swelling open interest in the crude contract is evidence that non-commercials, after reducing long positions to the lowest since February, have substantially added to their positions in the past three weeks.
Analysts polled by Platts were expecting a 2.5 million barrel drop in US crude stocks for the week ending September 7. Shrugging off OPEC's decision Tuesday to boost actual output 500,000 b/d and downward revisions in global demand growth by the International Energy Agency, prices continued to probe fresh levels.
The contract subsequently traded up to an intra-day high of $78.99/b for a gain of 76 cents on the session. Expectations for tight balances in the fourth quarter, traditionally the highest demand period of the year, have kept oil prices on an upward trajectory.
Non-commercials, primarily comprising hedge funds, have shown an insatiable appetite for crude futures contracts. Swelling open interest in the crude contract is evidence that non-commercials, after reducing long positions to the lowest since February, have substantially added to their positions in the past three weeks.
