Crude pares losses on record withdrawal at biggest storage site

Futures in New York were little changed after an earlier dip as the Energy Information Administration reported stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, declined 4.18 MMbbl last week. At the same time, U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.86 MMbbl last week for a ninth straight week of declines.

That’s the longest stretch of winter drawdowns on record.

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery hovered at around $63.98/bbl at 11:19 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 14% below the 100-day average.

Brent for March settlement slipped 48 cents to $68.90/bbl on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.31 to WTI for the same month.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia continue to cut output and plan to do so through the end of the year. Yet, OPEC raised its forecast for rival oil-supply growth this year, the group said in its monthly report. U.S. crude production rose by 258,000 bpd last week, according to the EIA data.