Posted 10/19/2011 12:16 PM by MidnightTrader.com Staff from Midnight Trader in Investing, Commodities

Referenced Stocks: UNG, USO, WLT

NYMEX Benchmark Crude November: (+0.05%) to $88.32

Top Energy Stocks

XOM: +0.3%

CVX: +0.7%

COP: +1.9%

SLB: +0.04%

OXY: +0.9%

Energy shares are higher while crude oil futures are trading near flat, but holding above $88 a barrel, after U.S. crude inventories fall.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery is trading flat to $88.35 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil is up 0.15% to $3.03 a gallon while natural gas is up 1.35% to $3.60 per million British thermal units.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) is up 0.06% to $34.17. The United States Natural Gas ETF ( UNG ) is up 0.69% to $8.78.

Domestic crude supplies slipped by 4.7 million barrels, or 1.4%, to 332.9 million barrels, the federal Energy Information Administration reported today.

Analysts expected an increase of 1.75 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 14, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Stockpiles are 7.8% below year-ago levels.

Gasoline supplies fell by 3.3 million barrels, or 1.6%, to 206.3 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a decline of 1.25 million barrels. Stockpiles are 6% below year-ago levels. Demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended Oct. 14 was 1.5% lower than last year.

Distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.3 million barrels to 149.7 million barrels, compared with a 1.1-million-barrel decline seen by analysts.

In mid-day news, shares of Walter Energy ( WLT ) are higher as they shrugged off an “underperform” initiation at Sterne Agee. The firm set the price target at $90.

Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-10/sector-update-energy-shares-higher-in-late-trading-crude-futures-near-flat.aspx?storyid=98949#ixzz1bGDgFfqL