Oil swung between gains and losses, staying below $40 a barrel, amid speculation U.S. crude stockpiles expanded for a second week.
Futures were little changed in New York after rising 2.8 percent Tuesday. Inventories probably increased by 1.45 million barrels through Aug. 21, a Bloomberg survey showed before a report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Venezuela is seeking to promote cooperation between OPEC and Russia, the world’s biggest crude producer, according to President Nicolas Maduro.
Oil’s decline since this year’s peak in June has deepened to more than 35 percent amid a global commodities rout fueled by concern that China’s demand will slow. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials including crude and metals was little changed after rebounding Tuesday from a 16-year low.
“The immediate consideration is ongoing volatility in markets generally,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “The longer the oil market spends down at these levels, the more likely the production cuts will come.”
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery was at $39.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 29 cents, at 3:36 p.m. Sydney time. The contract climbed $1.07 to $39.31 on Tuesday, rebounding from the lowest close since February 2009. Total volume was about 21 percent above the 100-day average. Prices have dropped 26 percent this year.
U.S. Stockpiles
Brent for October settlement was 28 cents higher at $43.49 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It advanced 52 cents to $43.21 on Tuesday. The European benchmark crude traded at a $3.89 premium to WTI.
Crude inventories in the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer, probably increased to 457.7 million barrels last week, based on the median estimate in the Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts. That will keep supplies almost 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.
Stockpiles shrank by 7.3 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said, according to reports on Twitter. Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub and the delivery point for WTI futures, were unchanged from the prior week, said the industry group in Washington.
Venezuela wants the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cooperate with Russia to stabilize oil prices, Maduro said on state television. The South American nation’s oil basket has fallen to $35 a barrel and could slide further to $30 or lower, according to its president.
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