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Market Close: April 29 Up

Fueling Strategy: Please fill as needed tonight – Be Safe
NYMEX Crude         $  58.58 UP $1.5200
NY Harbor ULSD     $1.9481 UP $0.0315
NYMEX Gasoline     $2.0179 UP $0.0161
NEWS

Oil futures rallied above $58 a barrel on Wednesday, lifting prices to their highest settlement of the year on the heels of a drop in the U.S. dollar and data showing a decline in crude supplies at the nation’s oil-storage hub.

June crude settled at $58.58 a barrel, up $1.52, or 2.7%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading around $57.40 before the supply data. Meanwhile, June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange climbed $1.20, or 1.9%, to $65.84 a barrel.

Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that crude inventories rose 1.9 million barrels for the week ended April 24. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a crude-stock climb of 1.4 million barrels, but late Tuesday the API reported a 4.2 million-barrel increase. The EIA has now reported its 16th straight week of rising crude inventories. But “two big risks to oil prices are easing: [the] U.S. dollar rally, and U.S. oil-storage rally,” said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Global Hunter Securities.

The storage crisis at the U.S. storage hub of Cushing, Okla. seems to be over, for now, and the weak GDP story is also contributing to a further weakening in the U.S. dollar he said. It “might be hard to get a stronger rally in oil prices, but it’s very hard for prices to breakdown from here.”

Crude supplies at Cushing fell 514,000 barrels in the latest week. That was the first decline since November, analysts said. Gasoline supplies were up 1.7 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 100,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. The Platts survey showed expectations for a rise of 80,000 barrels for gasoline stockpiles and an increase of 700,000 barrels for distillates, which include heating oil.

On Nymex, May gasoline settled up 1.6 cents, or 0.8%, at $2.018 a gallon, while May heating oil tacked on 3.2 cents, or 1.6%, to $1.948 a gallon. The May contracts expire Thursday. June natural gas ended at $2.606 per million British thermal units, up 6.9 cents, or 2.7%.

Nymex oil prices showed little reaction to the monetary policy statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which was released shortly before the regular session ended. The central bank left the option for a summer rate hike on the table. Oil prices were volatile Tuesday on reports that a U.S. Navy destroyer was sent to the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian patrol boats seized a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer in the Middle East, saw a dramatic reshuffling of its top officials Wednesday. King Salman bin Abdulaziz replaced his crown prince and foreign minister, appointing his nephew Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as his new heir apparent.