Oil holds longest run of gains this year

Hong Kong - Oil traded near $53 a barrel, holding its longest winning streak this year before US government data forecast to show record crude stockpiles declined.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 5.7% on the previous five sessions. Inventories probably dropped by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report on Wednesday. Libya declared force majeure at a key export terminal as its biggest field stopped producing just a week after reopening.

Oil has rallied above $50 a barrel after some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries voiced support for an extension of production cuts past June, offsetting rising US output. The curbs have stabilised the market, according to Russia, which is among 11 other nations outside the group that have joined in the pact aimed at easing a global glut.

“People have been picking up on the bullish indicators in the market ahead of the seasonal draw in crude stocks,” said David Wech, an analyst at JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna.

West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was at $53.09 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 1 cent, at 10:17. Total volume traded was about 15% below the 100-day average. The contract gained 84c to $53.08 on Monday, the highest close since March 7.

Brent for June settlement was up 4c at $56.02 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, after rising 74c to $55.98 on Monday. The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $2.53 to June WTI.

US crude inventories climbed to 535.5 million barrels at the end of March, the highest in weekly data compiled by the EIA since 1982.

While total supplies may have started to fall last week, stockpiles at Cushing in Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest US oil-storage hub, probably rose by 800 000 barrels, according to a forecast compiled by Bloomberg.

Oil-market news:

Libya’s National Oil declared force majeure on loadings of crude from the Zawiya oil terminal, citing a halt in production at the Sharara field, according to a copy of the NOC’s decree obtained by Bloomberg.

Global stockpiles will continue to decline over the coming months as refiners process more crude after returning from maintenance, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said, according to a report from the Kuwait News Agency.

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