•Crude futures were firm Thursday, holding on to strong gains seen Wednesday, ahead of today's release of the latest weekly US petroleum inventory data by the EIA and API, with more draws in crude and distillate stocks widely expected by market players.

•Despite the bullish start on Thursday, the complex fell short of touching the magical $100/b mark again. With just a single lot of 1,000 barrels done at the $100/b price Wednesday, the question now is whether prices will breach that level again in a sustained manner. So far, WTI was unable to do so, trading just short of it in early European trading at $99.98/b.

•"Volumes are eerily thin this morning. The market tried to hit the $100/b again but it seems that WTI has found resistance just below so far," a broker said. Renewed violence in Nigeria, a weaker US dollar, as well as expected draws in US stocks and funds buying all contributed to the price surge, sources said. "Funds are looking for a safe haven in commodities this year...although the increase towards $100/b came a little quicker than I first expected," a London-based broker said.

•Looking at US stock data expectations for later today, analysts surveyed by Platts see a 2.7 million barrel draw in US crude stocks for the final week of 2007. Analysts also expect a 750,000 barrel draw in distillate stocks, while gasoline stocks are seen up by 2 million barrels.

Updated: January 3, 2008