The waited crude oil inventories report

U.S. gasoline inventories probably shrank by 1.7 million barrels in the week ended August 15, according to the estimate. Distillate stockpiles, including heating oil and diesel, are forecast to have decreased by 300K barrels. Refinery utilization probably slid by 0.45 percentage points to an average 91.15% of capacity, a survey shows. In Iraq, the U.S. will continue “limited” air strikes against Islamic State insurgents, President Barack Obama said yesterday. The U.S. conducted 35 fighter, bomber and drone attacks over the past three days, disrupting their approach on the city of Erbil and allowing Iraqi and Kurdish forces to recapture the Mosul dam. The conflict in Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has spared the south, home to about three-quarters of its crude production. The nation pumped 3 million barrels a day last month.

West Texas Intermediate advanced for the second time in three days before supply data that may signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures climbed as much as 0.7% in New York. Crude stockpiles probably fell by 1.75 million barrels to 365.3 million last week, expectations say. WTI for September delivery, which expires tomorrow, gained as much as 64 cents to $97.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $96.66. The more-active October contract was up 41 cents at $94.16. The volume of all futures traded was about 8.8 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day. Front-month prices declined 1.8 percent this year.

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