Crude Oil Soars To End Near $54 A Barrel Ahead Of Supply Data

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil surged for a second day to end higher on Tuesday, ahead of the weekly official oil inventory report from the Energy Information Administration with investors expecting a decline in supplies.

Crude prices jumped over six percent on Monday, to end at a seven-week high on easing worries of a supply glut with Iran reentering the global market after its deal with western powers over its nuclear program. After initial concerns, investors now expect that it could take Iran several months to ramp up its oil production for export.

U.S. weekly oil inventories data is due from the American Petroleum Institute later today, while the official weekly oil report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled for release on Wednesday. Although investors anticipate a decline in inventories, analysts expect stockpiles to increase by about 3 million for the week ended April 3.

Oil prices were also supported by a report from research group Genscape, which indicated a drop in supplies at the key storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.

After an initial dip last week, oil prices have been on the up after Tehran's accord with the western powers in Lausanne, Switzerland over curtailment of its nuclear program. The deal is expected to ease sanctions on Iran which has troubled and degraded the Iranian economy for long.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for May delivery, the most actively traded contract, jumped $1.84 or 3.5 percent to settle at $53.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday. This is the highest level oil prices have touched in 2015.

Crude prices for May delivery scaled a high of $54.07 a barrel intraday and a low of $51.17.

On Monday, crude oil soared $3.00 or 6.1 percent to settle at $52.14 a barrel, with investors seeing no immediate supply glut threats as it could take several months for Iran to ramp up its crude oil production for export, following a deal with western powers over its nuclear program.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 97.73 on Tuesday, up from its previous close of 97.06 on Monday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 97.79 intraday and a low of 96.93.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.0845 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.0923 in North American trade late Monday. The euro scaled a high of $1.0957 intraday and a low of $1.0836.

On the economic front, eurozone investor confidence rose to the highest level in nearly seven-and-a-half years in April, amid signs of strengthening in the euro area economy, a survey by think tank Sentix revealed Tuesday. The investor confidence index for eurozone climbed to 20 from 18.6 in March. The latest score was the highest since August 2007.

The eurozone private sector continued to improve in March with the Purchasing Mangers' Index rising to an 11-month high to mark its joint highest level for almost four years. The final composite output index rose to 54 in March from 53.3 in February, final data from Markit Economics showed today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private sector.

But the score was marginally below the flash estimate of 54.1. The reading reached an 11-month high and its joint-highest for almost four years.

Eurozone producer prices logged the first monthly increase in five months in February, data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Industrial producer prices for the domestic market rose 0.5 percent from January, when they fell 1.1 percent, which was revised from 0.9 percent fall.

British services sector registered its fastest growth in seven months in March as wider economic recovery and improving confidence boosted new business, survey data from Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed Tuesday.

The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index for the services sector climbed more-than-expected to 58.9 from February's 56.7. It was the strongest growth in activity since August last year and was above the expected reading of 57.