Crude Oil Prices Fall For Fourth Day
The Associated Press
06/17/09 - 12:19 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Benchmark crude fell for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday despite new U.S. data showing a steeper-than-expected decline in inventories.
Benchmark crude for July delivery fell $1 to $69.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices fell 98 cents to $69.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration report said crude inventories fell 3.9 million barrels last week, or 1.1 percent, to 357.7 million barrels.
The report also said that gasoline reserves grew 3.4 million barrels, or 1.7 percent, to 205 million barrels.
Demand for gasoline was up 1.1 percent from last year, averaging nearly 9.3 million barrels a day over the four weeks ended June 12.
Analysts had expected a 1.7 million-barrel drop in crude oil reserves for the week ended June 12, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
A reading above or below estimates can influence market trading.
Oil prices this week have come off eight-month highs near $73 a barrel amid some signs that the U.S. economy, while past the worst of a severe recession, is still weak.
"There have been some mixed signs," said Toby Hassall, an analyst with investment firm Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. "The last few days we've seen a turn toward negative sentiment. Oil looks set for a correction."
"Oil will likely drift below $70 and maybe to $65." Hassall said. "It's been a very strong rally, driven by sentiment rather than data, which makes it look vulnerable to a correction."
Crude prices have dropped with equities markets this week, and they continued to fall Wednesday though the dollar was week.
Because barrels are priced in U.S. currency, oil tends to rise when the dollar falls.
Meanwhile, U.S. retail gas prices climbed for the 50th straight day Wednesday, the longest streak in records dating to 1996.
Pump prices added a half cent overnight to a new national average of $2.679 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for July delivery tumbled 6.37 cents to $2.0074 a gallon and heating oil dropped 1.3 cents to $1.812. Natural gas for July delivery added 2.1 cents to $4.150 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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Associated Press writers Chris Kahn in New York, Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
