Oil Trades Near Three-Month High on Berlusconi Plan, U.S. Fuel Stockpiles

By Ben Sharples - Nov 9, 2011 6:55 AM GMT+0700

Oil traded near a three-month high in New York as investors speculated that an offer to resign by Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi brings Europe closer to resolving its debt crisis. U.S. fuel stockpiles declined.

Futures were little changed after climbing for a fifth day yesterday. Berlusconi offered to step down as soon as Parliament approves austerity measures pledged to European partners. U.S. gasoline supplies dropped 1.49 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said. An Energy Department report today may show they rose 1 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

Crude oil for December delivery was at $96.86 a barrel, up 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:52 a.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday advanced $1.28 to $96.80, the highest settlement since July 28. Prices are 6 percent higher the past year.

Brent oil for December settlement gained 44 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $115 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark contract closed at a premium of $18.20 to New York crude, compared with a record settlement of $27.88 on Oct. 14.

Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, fell 2.88 million barrels, the API said. They may decrease 2.2 million barrels, according to the median of 13 analyst estimates before today’s Energy Department report.

Crude inventories climbed 148,000 barrels, the API said. Analysts forecast a gain of 500,000 barrels in the survey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in Singapore at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net