Crude Oil Drops a Fourth Day Amid Concern Slow Recovery Will Hurt Demand

Crude oil declined for a fourth day in New York after confidence among U.S. consumers slumped, adding to concerns a recovery in fuel demand may falter in the biggest energy consuming nation. Oil dropped after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for July fell to 66.5 from 76 in June, the lowest level since August. The gauge was projected to fall to 74, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg News.

Crude oil for August delivery dropped as much as 51 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $75.50 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $75.74 at 8:27 a.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 61 cents to $76.01 on July 16. Futures have declined 8.2 percent since the start of the year. U.S. equities dropped on July 16 after the slump in consumer confidence and lower than estimated revenue at companies from Bank of America Corp. to General Electric Co. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.5 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 2.9 percent.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported last week that its general economic index fell to 5.1 in July from 19.6 the prior month. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index declined to 5.1 this month, the lowest level since August 2009, from 8 in June. Brent crude oil for September settlement fell 72 cents, or 0.9 percent on July 16, to end the session at $75.37 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Reporter Mark Shenk can be reached at mshenk1@bloomberg.net Ben Sharples at bsharples@bloomberg.net


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