Oil Futures Gain Modestly

LONDON – Oil prices fell Wednesday ahead of a weekly report expected to show a hefty increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.

Light sweet crude for May delivery fell 24 cents to $62.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract rose 15 cents to settle and expire at $60.57 a barrel on Tuesday.

May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures gained 14 cents to $62.27 a barrel.

Nymex crude initially rose in Asia amid persistent concerns about supply disruptions in Nigeria, but pulled back ahead of the U.S. Department of Energy’s petroleum inventory data due later Wednesday.

According to a survey of 10 analysts by Dow Jones Newswires, U.S. commercial oil inventories were likely to have increased by 2 million barrels in this week’s data, to be released later Wednesday.

However, gasoline stocks were expected to slide 700,000 barrels, while distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, were seen dropping 1.9 million barrels, even as operating rates at refineries rose.

Gasoline futures fell 2.95 cents to $1.8100 a gallon while heating oil prices rose 0.18 cent to $1.7740 a gallon. Natural gas gained 0.19 cents to $6.887 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. petroleum data last week showed that oil stockpiles had climbed to their highest level since the end of May 1999.

Prices have been supported in recent weeks by persistent concerns over supply disruptions in Nigeria as well as the potential threat of United Nations Security Council action against Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have been debating since last week what action the council should take after the U.N. nuclear watchdog referred Iran to the body. They met for more than four hours on Monday, and U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said more time was needed for negotiations.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Tehran, which says its program aims only to generate electricity. Iran is the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Late last week, Nigerian rebels struck an oil pipeline operated by Rome-based Eni SPA’s Agip Oil Co. unit, disrupting the flow of oil. The company said Monday that its production in Nigeria would drop by about 13,000 barrels per day while it repairs the pipeline, thought to have been sabotaged by militants seeking a greater share of the country’s oil wealth.