Brent oil rises to $108 on cold spell, stimulus cut weighs

Brent rose to 108 dollars a barrel on Thursday as bitter cold across the northern Hemisphere boosted heating oil demand.

However, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move to trim its monetary stimulus curbed gains.

Weak Chinese manufacturing data and the Fed’s decision to stick with wind down economic stimulus despite recent turmoil in emerging markets weighed on riskier assets, including Asian shares.

But oil diverged as a fall in U.S. distillates stocks by more than double what was expected revived hopes of firm demand in a seasonally weak period.

Brent crude had gained five cents to 107.90 dollars a barrel, after settling 44 cents higher. U.S. oil rose 19 cents to 97.55 dollars a barrel, having ended down five cents.

“A weak Chinese economy is a bearish factor for oil,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan.

“But the market is finely balanced right now, with rising crude production being offset by an overall improvement in the global economy.”

The balance means oil will trade in a narrow range, Hasegawa said.

The Fed’s move had been widely expected, although some investors had speculated the U.S. central bank might put its plans on hold given the jitters overseas.

A pullback in stimulus will strengthen the dollar, weighing on commodities price such as oil.

U.S. distillate stocks fell 4.6 million barrels last week, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed, versus forecasts of a decrease of 2.2 million barrels.

Distillate inventories were 116 million barrels nationwide in the week ended Jan. 24.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, which has suffered two cold snaps this month, they fell 3.8 million barrels to 29.5 million barrels, the lowest since April 2008.

The distillates supply squeeze comes against a backdrop of a relatively healthy outlook for U.S. energy, supported by strong crude stocks, high levels of oil production and a fresh peak in exports.

Crude stocks rose by 6.4 million barrels, far more than the 2.3 million barrel build expected in a poll, to 358 million barrels as refinery maintenance began.

Prices also remain supported by concerns over supply disruptions from the Middle East and North Africa.

Reuters/NAN