2013.07.2304:56:58UTC+00Oil prices display slight advances ahead of supply data

Standard U.S. crude-oil futures recorded slight wins in electronic trade Tuesday ahead of data that may display a weekly pullback in crude stockpiles, extending a run of drawdowns.

Oil for September delivery, now the front-month contract, was up 13 cents at $107.08 a barrel.

Oil for August delivery on Monday relinquished $1.14, or 1.1%, to $106.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, seeing some volatility as the contract expired at the close of trading.

Investors late Tuesday will check for an update on U.S. crude supplies from the American Petroleum Institute for the week ended July 19. Analysts polled by Platts expect commercial crude-oil stocks to have fallen 2.6 million barrels.

A more widely watched inventories report from the Energy Information Administration was due out Wednesday.

Crude supplies have gave up roughly 27 million barrels during the three most recent reporting periods, said Platts, citing data from the EIA.

The EIA last week reported a drop in supplies that was nearly three times more than analysts expected.

The recent supply declines, combined with concerns about the Middle East oil trade in light of political turmoil in Egypt, have pushed oil prices above $108 to highs not seen since March 2012.

However, “despite the declines, U.S. crude oil stocks ... are still nearly 6.5% above the five-year average of EIA data,” Platts said in a report.

While crude supplies are likely to drop, analysts project an increase of 800,000 barrels in gasoline stocks and a rise of 1.9 million barrels in distillate stocks.

August gasoline on Tuesday was off 1 cent at $3.05 a gallon, and August heating-oil futures remained at $3.07 a gallon.

August natural gas spiked 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.70 per million British thermal units. The contract surrendered 11 cents, or 3%, on Monday.