Agro Perspectiva

Crude Oil Falls for a Fourth Day Amid Signs of Slowing Fuel Consumption

05.05.2011 09:46 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — Oil declined for a fourth day in New York, the longest losing streak in almost eight weeks, as a drop in gasoline consumption added to signs of slowing growth in the U.S. economy, the world’s biggest crude consumer. Futures dropped as much as 0.7 percent after the Energy Department said yesterday that crude stockpiles climbed to the highest since October and gasoline consumption fell to a four- week low. Separate reports showed a lower-than-forecast expansion in U.S. service industries and employment. «The data is signaling that the recovery isn’t as rapid as some were expecting,» said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne, who predicted oil will average $113 in the third quarter. «It’s going to be a slow grind back for the U.S.» Crude for June delivery lost as much as 81 cents to $108.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $108.95 at 1:16 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, it slid $1.81, or 1.6 percent, to $109.24, the lowest since April 19. Oil is headed for a fourth day of decline, the longest streak of losses since the four days ended March 11. Prices are up 36 percent from a year earlier. Brent crude for June settlement was at $121.18 a barrel, down 1 cent, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Oil Inventories U.S. gasoline demand slid 2.2 percent to 8.94 million barrels a day, the Energy Department said. Stockpiles fell 1.05 million barrels to 204.5 million last week, the lowest since June 2009. They were forecast to drop 500,000 barrels, according to the median of 15 analyst responses in a Bloomberg News survey. U.S. crude inventories rose 3.42 million barrels to 366.5 million last week, the Energy Department report showed. They were forecast to climb 2 million barrels in the survey. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the New York-traded West Texas Intermediate grade, gained 102,000 barrels, the biggest increase in a month. The increase in crude inventories and decline in gasoline demand «suggested to many that oil demand has been hurt by high pump prices and an economy that is still having trouble walking upright on two feet,» Cameron Hanover Inc. said in a report dated May 4. Oil Demand ‘Hurt’ «The overnight data reports raised doubts over the strength of the U.S. recovery,» Mark Pervan, head of commodity research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne, said in an e-mailed note today. «Coupled with another 3.4 million barrel rise in U.S. crude stockpiles, price trends could remain soft.» Crude’s 14-day relative strength index, a measure of how rapidly prices are rising or falling, was at 49, the lowest in almost 11 weeks. A reading of 70 typically indicates prices are set to retreat, while 30 suggests they may rise. Prior to this week’s decline, the index was at 67. Bloomberg’s Fear and Greed Indicator has generated a sell signal on crude for the first time since March 11. Brent, the European benchmark, traded at a premium of $11.95 a barrel to U.S. futures yesterday. The difference between front-month contracts in London and New York surged to a record $19.54 on Feb. 21. It averaged 76 cents last year. U. S. Employment Oil also declined on signs of weaker economic growth after U.S. companies added fewer jobs and service companies expanded less than forecast. Employment rose 179,000 in April, according to ADP Employer Services, less than the 198,000 median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Labor Department data tomorrow may show payrolls increased by 185,000 workers last month after 216,000 a month earlier, a separate poll showed. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing companies slumped to 52.8 in April, the lowest level since August. The most-active oil options contracts in electronic trading were June 2011 $105 puts with 3,360 lots changing hands. They gained 23 cents to 82 cents a barrel. June $115 calls, the next- most active option, fell 54 cents to 51 cents a barrel. One contract covers 1,000 barrels of oil. Oil options volatility fell for the first day in three. Oil has climbed 19 percent in New York this year as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and spread to Libya, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Oman, Syria and Yemen. Forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi attacked rebel-held cities in western Libya as ministers from 22 nations prepared to meet in Rome to discuss ways to end the fighting.