WTI Futures Advance on Cushing Inventory
NYMEX-traded crude futures rebounded Wednesday, narrowing its discount to Brent, after the release of a weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed inventories dropped at Cushing, Okla. – known as PADD 2. Stockpiles at the futures’ delivery point slid 1.08 million barrels in the week ended February 21, according to the EIA. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery advanced 76¢, or 0.7%, to close at US$102.59 per barrel (/bbl). Cushing supplies declined 7 million barrels in the four weeks ended February 21 to 34.8 million barrels, the least since October 18, 2013. Analysts noted that Cushing supplies have decreased since TransCanada Corp. said in January that it would begin using the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline to move oil to Texas from Cushing. Crude oil supplies in states along the U.S. Gulf Coast, a region known as PADD 3, increased for a sixth straight week, gaining 1.55 million barrels to end at 177.7 million barrels. Meanwhile, total U.S. crude oil supplies rose for a sixth consecutive time, up 68,000 barrels to 362.4 million barrels, the EIA noted. In European trading, front-month April Brent futures gained a penny to end the session at $109.52/bbl. The European benchmark was at a premium of $6.93/bbl to WTI, the narrowest level since October 2013, versus $7.68/bbl a day earlier.

Natural Gas Falls on Mild Weather Outlook
U.S. natural gas futures extended losses Wednesday by about 4.7% as support for the heating fuel eased amid revised, milder forecasts for the eastern U.S. and subsequent conclusion to the peak-demand heating season. Weather outlooks predict a frigid start to March in central U.S. states, followed by warmer weather by mid-month, which will pullback home-heating consumption. Prices for the final trading day of the March-delivery natural gas contract settled down 24.1¢ at US$4.855 per million British thermal units (/mmBtu), marking the lowest settlement since February 12. Front-month pricing over March contained a volatile streak throughout, with prices ranging from $3.953/mmBtu to $6.493/mmBtu. Meanwhile, prices for April-delivery settled down 15¢ at $4.541/mmBtu, just over a 3% decline after recovering from a dip to $4.483/mmBtu over the trading session. Expectations for U.S. gas inventories for the week ending February 21, due to for release by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) today, were estimated at a 101 billion cubic feet drawdown, according to Bloomberg analysts. Inventory levels reached their lowest levels since 2004 for the week ended February 14, declining by 250 billion cubic feet to 1.443 trillion cubic feet, according to the EIA.