Oil futures advance in shrug to dollar's strength

Oil futures tilted higher in American trade even as the dollar index rose for the fifth session in seven from the lowest since late 2014, following an array of data from the US, the world's largest energy consumer. 

As of 06:38 GMT, US crude futures due on November 15 rose 0.33% to $51.46 a barrel from the opening of $51.29, while Brent crude futures advanced 0.51% to $57.52 a barrel from the opening of $57.23, as the dollar index rose 0.43% to 93.67 from the opening of 93.27. 

US existing home sales rose 0.7% in September to an annualized 5.39 million units, compared to a 1.7% decline in August to 5.35 million, while analysts expected a 0.9% drop to 5.30M, as President Donald Trump continues to meet with potential candidates for the Federal Reserve Chair job in February. 

In earlier remarks, OPEC's Barkindo said the oil market is near balance, and global demand is rising strongly, pointing to several indicators of continuous growth in the next period, specifically expecting one million bpd of demand growth by 2020. 

Otherwise, Iraqi oil ministry spokesman said Iraq intends to increase exports from the Kirkuk oil fields, putting the current output figure at 300 thousand bpd, and noting the ministry has partnered up with several global companies in that regard, however the recent instability in the region forced the government to delay action. 

The spokesman said Iraq intends to increase Kirkuk oil exports to one million bpd, adding that the ministry is currently conducting survey on the infrastructure to asses the situation and carry out its plans. 

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration released its report on US crude stocks, showing a drawdown of 5.7 million barrels in the week ending October 13, adding to a 2.7M drop in the previous reading, while analysts expected a 4.7M decline, with total stocks now reaching 456.5 million barrels, remaining within the uppermost range on average in this time of year. 

Additionally, gasoline stocks in the world's largest energy consumer rose 0.9 million barrels, remaining within the uppermost range on average in this time of year, while distillate stocks, including heating fuel, rose 1.5 million barrels, remaining within the downward range on average in this time of year.