* U.S. crude inventories rise less than expected
* U.S. gasoline stockpiles fall
* Sinopec says products sales over 90% of pre-virus levels
* Global storage concerns persist
* Rate of change in global energy demand: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aRs40O
(Updates prices)
By Noah Browning
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Thursday,
lifted by signs the U.S. crude glut is not growing as quickly as
expected and indications of a rise in fuel demand that has been
crushed by the coronavirus.
Brent crude was up 12.4%, or $2.79, at $25.33 a
barrel by 1215 GMT in light trading. The front-month contract
for June is set to expire on Thursday.
The more actively traded July contract was up $2.26
or 9.3%, at $26.49 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 16.1%, or
$2.42, to $17.48 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark surged 22% on
Wednesday.
U.S. crude inventories grew by 9 million barrels last week
to 527.6 million barrels, Energy Information Administration
data showed, below the 10.6 million barrel rise expected by
analysts polled by Reuters had expected.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell by 3.7 million barrels from
record highs the previous week, with a slight rise in fuel
demand offsetting a rebound in refinery output.
"If we see a continuation of this trend in the coming weeks,
it could suggest the worst might be behind the oil market,"
ING's head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) said on Thursday
its daily sales of refined oil products had climbed and were now
at more than 90% of levels seen before the coronavirus outbreak.
Yet indicating the depth of the crisis hitting the industry,
Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it was cutting its
dividend for the first time since World War Two.
Storage concerns continue to weigh with the International
Energy Agency saying global capacity could reach its maximum by
mid-June and energy demand could slump by a record 6% in 2020.
"If the already-stretched storage capacity is getting fuller
and fuller every week, a rise in prices cannot be sustainable
for long as the problem is not really resolved," said Bjornar
Tonhauge, Rystad Energy's head of oil markets.
"At around 80%-90% full, traders keep on seeing the storage
glass as half empty when it is not even half full. It's close to
overflowing, even at a lower speed."
U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would
soon release a plan to help U.S. oil companies. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it could include adding millions
of barrels of oil to national reserves.
Western Europe's largest oil producer, Norway, said it would
lower output from June to December, cutting production the first
time in 18 years as it joined other major producers in action
aimed at supporting prices and curbing oversupply.
(Additional by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Koustav Samanta in
Singapore; Editing by Alexander Smith and Jason Neely)
