Crude oil futures climb amid optimism of ECB prospects

Crude oil futures were on the rise on Wednesday in response to the central bank of Europe keeping interest rates intact as other tradables of the commodity complex also drove higher, according to Reuters.

The shared currency of the European Union also drove higher, riding the influence of optimism for the European Central Bank's efforts to come through and alleviate troubles caused by the sovereign debt crisis.

After the ECB fulfilled expectations of leaving borrowing costs unchanged, investors were awaiting indications of monetary stimulus as a strategy of boosting the economy and driving regional confidence. Greece and Spain, two debt-hobbled nations, are likely to be the focus of ECB efforts.

"The Eurozone crisis is infecting global oil prices as contagion spreads from banking woes to economic growth expectations," states a Global Research report authored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to Reuters. "If Greece exits the Euro, Greek oil demand could drop by one third. In the event of a disorderly broad Eurozone break-up, demand could contract sharply and we think Brent oil prices could drop to as low as $60 a barrel."

At 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, crude oil futures gained 1.11 percent, a $1.10 lift to $99.94 per barrel.

Conjecture continues lingering about Greece's possible departure from the euro zone as the Aegean nation has received two tranches of international bailout aid during the past 24 months. Early May elections proved to be inconclusive as warring political parties could not negotiate and reconcile their positions for and against deep austerity measures that enable disbursement of the international aid.

Spain is of concern due to the fragility of its banking system. Earlier this week the country reached out for aid for its banks, marking the first time such an occurrence happened with the nation hosting the euro zone's fourth-biggest economy. Spain also is working to keep down bond yields from hovering about the figure that prompted Ireland, Portugal and Greece to request aid.

"We probably need to see a more significant rally out of this level to be more confident we have a corrective rally going on," chief market analyst Ric Spooner with CMC Markets told Reuters. "We have gone from pricing in a potential supply shortage because of the situation in Iran … to a market that is more than adequately supplied."

The Wall Street Journal reports the energy commodity tracked the upward drive of Asian stocks.

One analyst told the news source that crude oil futures are likely to continue rising through the remainder of this week.

"Further choppy or consolidative price behavior will continue through most of this week, assuming no major shockers out of the euro zone," Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch & Associates told the news source.

The U.S. Energy Department is slated to release economic data about oil inventories, which is bound to impact the price of the energy commodity. A Dow Jones Newswires survey indicates supplies are likely to fall for week ended June 1, representing the first losses in nine consecutive weeks.

A Bloomberg poll also suggests a drop in supplies, perhaps prompted by the unanticipated advance of service industry growth in the U.S.

"The U.S. recovery is a bright star in a dim firmament," senior broker Christopher Bellew with Jefferies Bache in London told the news source. "But there is no reason for prices to hold here, and the market may well turn lower again."

The likelihood of crude oil futures continuing to drive higher rose after economic data indicated the economy of Australia grew last quarter more than twice as fast as economists had projected, according to Bloomberg.