After the release of a report on crude oil inventories, oil stocks moved to the upside during Wednesday morning's trading.
Among the biggest gainers was Hess Corp. (HESS), which rose about 8%. Hess's stock was also boosted after the company reported a higher second quarter profit.
Holly Corp. (HOC) and Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) climbed about 5%, while Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Sasol Ltd (SSL) also posted notable gains.
Crude oil inventories were down less than expected in the recent week, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration. However, the price of oil moved off its lows following the release of the report, as gasoline supplies came in lower than analysts predicted.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by about 100,000 barrels in the week ended July 25. Experts were looking for a drop of about 1.5 million barrels. At 295.2 million barrels, inventories are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year. Stockpiles were at 342.2 million barrels at this time last year.
However, gasoline inventories decreased by 3.5 million barrels from last week's amount. This came as a surprise to experts, who were looking for a build of about 400,000 barrels. Gasoline stockpiles are near the upper boundary of the average range for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels and are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. Analysts were looking for an increase of about 2 million barrels. Propane/propylene inventories increased by about 500,000 barrels from last week's total.
Following the release of the report, crude for September delivery is currently up $0.25 at $122.44 a barrel. Prices had moved as low as $120.80 earlier in the morning. Overall, oil has plunged for the last few weeks and given back more than $25 record level of $147.27 a barrel reached on July 11.
Last week's data had little impact on trading. Crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended July 18, according to the weekly report. But prices continued their downward spiral and lost nearly $4 on the session. All told, crude lost nearly 2% last week amid ongoing demand concerns.
Before the opening bell, Hess reported second quarter net income of $900 million, up from $557 million in the same period prior year. On a per share basis, quarterly earnings rose to $2.76 from $1.75 in the previous year period.
Total revenues and non-operating income for the quarter totaled $11.74 billion, higher from $7.54 billion in the year ago period.
By about 11:25 am Eastern Time, Hess was up $7.51 at $101.76 a share, while Holly was up $1.43 at $29.43 per share and Murphy Oil was up $3.73 at $77.78.
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