Oil reaches 5-month high

Stockpiles, imports of crude decline

The price of oil rose Wednesday to its highest level since December after U.S. crude stockpiles dropped for the first time in four months — although the price gains were limited by an increase in gasoline supplies.

Oil has recovered from a six-year low in March as U.S. drillers reduced the number of active rigs to the fewest since September 2010, bolstering speculation that output will slow. The rally may still falter, though, with stockpiles near their highest level in 85 years and shale-oil producers preparing to boost drilling as prices rebound.

“U.S. crude stocks are fi- nally down,” Mike Wittner, head of oil research at Societe Generale SA in New York, said by phone. “Refinery runs are increasingly strong, which is to be expected, while crude production has plateaued. We’re seeing evidence of a rebalancing of the U.S. and global markets.”

West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 53 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $60.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement since Dec. 10.

Crude stockpiles had expanded for 16 weeks through April 24 to 490.9 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was the highest level since 1930, based on monthly records dating back to 1920. Output reached 9.42 million barrels a day in the week that ended March 20, the most in more than three decades.

But drillers seeking oil in the United States cut the number of active machines by 24 to 679 in the week that ended May 1, according to Baker Hughes Inc., an oilservices company. The rig count has slid 57% since the start of December.

Imports of crude, meanwhile, tumbled 905,000 barrels a day to 6.54 million last week, the lowest level since May 2014. Fuel imports dropped 995,000 barrels to 1.54 million, the least since November.

“The number is less bullish than the headline will suggest,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, the head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. “It was motivated by an unusual decline in imports that can easily reverse next week.”

Inventories of crude at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate traded in New York, fell 12,000 barrels to 61.7 million, the second straight drop.

“A lot of what was in the report was already built in,” said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Fla.-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. “Cushing supplies were largely unchanged in the face of a nearly 2% climb in refinery runs. That’s not much of a reaction.”

Refineries operated at 93% of their capacity, up from 91.3% the previous week.

Stockpiles of gasoline climbed 401,000 barrels to 227.9 million.

Gasoline futures for June delivery decreased 2.68 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $2.0366 a gallon in New York.