Оil rose

West Texas Intermediate oil rose to a two-week high on amid speculation that U.S. crude inventories dropped a second week. The premium of Brent to WTI narrowed.

Futures advanced as much as 0.9 percent in New York. Crude supplies probably slipped 500,000 barrels to 397.1 million last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before a government report tomorrow. Stockpiles reached 399.4 million in the week ended April 25, the highest level since the government began publishing weekly data in 1982. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, probably fell from a five-year low.

“There’s a lot of positioning taking place in advance of tomorrow’s inventory report,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. ‘The consensus is for a second draw. After climbing to a record just a couple weeks ago, it appears that the days of testing 400 million barrels are over.’’

WTI for June delivery rose 55 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $101.14 a barrel at 10:24 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $101.52, the highest intraday level since April 29. The volume of all futures traded was 15 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day.

Brent for June settlement increased 20 cents to $108.61 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 19 percent higher than the 100-day average. The European benchmark crude traded at a $7.47 premium to WTI, down from $7.82 at yesterday’s close.