Oil Futures Trade Slightly Higher as Investors Await U.S. Supply Data and Inflation Update

Price Action

• West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August delivery gained 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $73.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• September Brent crude gained 53 cents, or 0.7%, to $78.21 per barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
• August gasoline fell by 0.8% to $2.5929 a gallon, while August heating oil rose 1% to $2.594 per gallon.
• August natural gas rose 1.6% to $2.71 per million British thermal units.

Market Drivers

Oil prices reached their highest level intraday in a month on Monday, with prices of WTI crude futures nearing $79 a barrel. This increase may indicate that prices are heading higher, potentially surpassing $80 a barrel for the first time since April.

According to Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, “While it is still trading around the range highs since early May, the break of the recent high could be viewed as a bullish step that could give it the momentum to break back above $80.”

Investors are eagerly awaiting U.S. weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute, which will be released later today, as well as the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s report due tomorrow. Additionally, they are closely watching the U.S. June consumer-price index reading, which is the final major data before the next Federal Reserve policy meeting scheduled for July 25-26.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal are expecting headline inflation to slow to 3.1% for the year, with core inflation (which excludes volatile food and energy prices) expected to slow to 5% year-over-year.