Oil futures settled higher Wednesday, with U.S. benchmark prices turning positive for the week after U.S. government data revealed a weekly decline in domestic crude supplies. Overall, oil has “stalled this week as traders haven’t really bought into demand growth story,” said Manish Raj, managing director at Velandera Energy Partners. Wednesday’s Energy Information Administration report showing a “massive buildup in gasoline and diesel inventory reaffirms demand fear, as the highly anticipated demand pickup has yet to arrive.” July West Texas Intermediate crude
CLN23,
rose 79 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $72.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading about 1.1% higher week to date. As of Tuesday’s settlement, it had been flat for the week.
