By Steve Gelsi
Energy stocks shook off a surprise increase in petroleum
supplies, but eased back a bit on the throttle Wednesday as the
sector recovered some of its big losses in the previous
session.
U.S. crude inventories rose for a seventh straight week, up 4.7
million barrels to an 18-month high of 350.8 million barrels in the
week ended Feb. 6, the Energy Information Administration reported
Wednesday. The gain was higher than the 3.4 million increase
expected by analysts surveyed by energy information advisor
Platts.
The Amex Oil Index rose 0.9% to 938. Earlier, the index had
risen 1.6%.
The Amex Natural Gas Index fell 0.1% to 393, while the
Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose 0.3% to 132, lower than its
earlier gain.
In energy trading, crude-oil prices fell 35 cents to $37.20.
In its latest update, the International Energy Agency again
revised lower its 2009 forecast global oil demand, this time to
84.7 million barrels a day.
The revision, lower by 570,000 barrels a day, would put
worldwide demand down by 1.1% from 2008 levels. The IEA cited the
worsening economic outlook across all regions, particularly in
Europe, the former Soviet Union and Asia.
Among energy stocks in the spotlight, Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
rose 1.3% to $39.77.
The company said it plans to spend between $4 billion and $4.5
billion on capital projects in 2009, down from about $5 billion in
2008.
"Although 2009 will be a challenging year for our industry, we
feel a prudent level of funding is appropriate given the economic
quality of our current portfolio," the company said. "We view our
capital allocation decisions as an ongoing process, thus we will
continue to closely monitor economic conditions and manage our
spending to enhance shareholder value, while maintaining a strong
balance sheet."
-Steve Gelsi; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com