NEW YORK: US oil had its eighth straight week of gains on Friday on market talk of fewer oil rail shipments from the booming Bakken shale in North Dakota.
Brent oil settled moderately higher but ended the last week lower, weighed down by an outlook for dampening demand in China and another for stymied European growth due to uprisings in Ukraine.
Crude oil loadings at a dozen major North Dakota rail terminals fell by more than 200,000 barrels on average in the past two days to 345,000 barrels, data from industry intelligence provider Genscape showed.
The US Department of Transportation knocked down market chatter that new rules requiring shippers to test all crude before it is carried by train led to a shutdown at the Bakken oilfield terminals, calling it a “rumour.” US oil ended the week less than one percent higher. Brent crude rose 11 cents to $109.07 a barrel and settled less than one percent lower on the week.
US gasoline for March delivery expired nearly 3 cents higher to $2.7898 per gallon. The April contract, which will become the front-month today, rose 1.69 cents to $2.9774. The New York ultra-low sulfur diesel March contract , commonly known as heating oil, expired 0.28 cents higher to $3.0893 per gallon. The April contract rose 0.63 cents to settle at $3.0163 per gallon.
Exxon Mobil Corp said it shut a sulfur recovery unit for planned maintenance lasting several weeks at its 149,500bpd refinery in Torrance, California.
Lower estimates for US gross domestic product also capped gains in oil. The US Commerce Department reported that GDP expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, down sharply from the 3.2 percent pace reported last month and shy of analyst expectations.Reuters
