WTI Oil Advances as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Decline; Brent Steady 

West Texas Intermediate rose for the third time in four days after industry data showed crude inventories slid in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London.
Futures for July advanced as much as 0.6 percent in New York. Crude supplies shrank by 10.3 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday. Stockpiles were probably unchanged near a record high, according to a Bloomberg News survey before government data today. Citigroup Inc. raised its Brent price forecasts, citing increased geopolitical risks over the crisis in Ukraine and supply uncertainty in countries including Libya. WTI for July delivery gained as much as 65 cents to $102.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $102.87 at 4:38 p.m. Sydney time. The volume of all futures traded was about 10 percent below the 100-day average. The June contract expired yesterday after losing 17 cents to $102.44. Prices are up 4.5 percent this year. Brent for July settlement was 10 cents higher at $109.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $6.93 to WTI. The spread widened for the first time in three days yesterday to close at $7.36.
Source: Bloomberg

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