Thursday, February 4, 2010

Crude Oil Drops a Second Day on U.S. Inventory Gains, Stronger Dollar


Crude oil declined for a second day after a U.S. government report yesterday showed a bigger than forecast increase in inventories, while a stronger dollar dulled the appeal of commodities. The Energy Department reported that crude stockpiles rose by 2.32 million barrels last week, compared with an expected 400,000 barrel gain, as refineries operated at their lowest rate outside of a hurricane period since 1989. Supplies of distillate fuels such as heating oil declined less than forecast.

“Strong contraction in distillate demand, which belies the recovery in the U.S. suggested by the latest GDP and manufacturing data, is weighing on sentiment,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity derivatives research at BNP Paribas SA in London. “It will be the second half of the year before oil breaks its range centered around $75 and sustainably rallies.” Crude oil for March delivery fell as much as 88 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $76.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $76.35 at 1:21 a.m. London time. Futures, which gained 78 percent in 2009, are down 3 percent so far this year.

Crude declined in tandem with European stock indexes. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.9 percent to 247.21 as of 1:22 p.m. in London, erasing an earlier gain of 0.3 percent, led by losses among companies in Greece, Portugal and Spain.....Read the entire article.

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