West Texas Intermediate rose for a second day on speculation crude stockpiles shrank in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Violence forced a partial production shutdown in South Sudan. Futures climbed as much as 0.4 percent in New York. U.S. crude stockpiles dropped by 2.3 million barrels last week, a fourth weekly decline, according to a Bloomberg News survey before government data tomorrow. Prices are extending gains above technical resistance along the 200-day moving average. “WTI is trying to reach $100, but it may meet profit taking around that level,” Ken Hasegawa , an energy-trading manager at Newedge Group in Tokyo , said by phone today. A loss of crude output from South Sudan “will be a support factor for Brent,” he said. WTI for February delivery increased as much as 43 cents to $99.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was […]