Commodities: WTI jumps following unexpectedly large draw in US oil inventories

Figures showing a somewhat unexpected drop in commercial US crude oil stockpiles last week lit a fire under energy futures on Wednesday.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the US Department of Energy's statistical arm, American oil inventories fell by an outsized 5.8m barrels over the week ending on 17 August to reach 408.4m barrels.

That was far more than the 1.5m barrel declined which analyst had been expecting, although a separate report from the American Petroleum Institute the night before had revealed a 5.2m barrel drop.

In any case, as of 1913 BST West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October delivery were trading 3.10% higher at $67.88 a barrel following the news.

NYMEX gasoline futures for next month delivery were also stronger, rising by 2.59% to $2.0701 a gallon, alongside a gain of 2.15% for the similarly-dated heating oil contract which was putting on 2.15% to $2.1693 a gallon.

Meanwhile, the Bloomberg commodity index was adding 0.34% to 83.73, as the US dollar spot index drifted lower by 0.12% to 95.1420.

"US political turmoil led to slippage in Asian stocks overnight, reversing some of Tuesday’s gains and setting an uncertain tone for the day. The lower USD helped to keep base metals fairly buoyant although trading conditions remain seasonally thin, said traders at Sucden Financial.

Against that backdrop, three-month copper futures out on the LME dipped to $6,005 per metric tonne, having started the day from $6,036.

December Gold futures on COMEX on the other hand ticked higher by 0.23% to $1,202.80/oz..

Agricultural commodities on the other hand were all lower, save for ICE-traded cocoa which was up by 2.39% at $2,313 per metric tonne.