Crude Slumps Another Day: Oil Alert

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- By all appearances, it seems oil investors took a peek at weekly underlying crude fundamentals, didn't like what they saw, and continued sending futures lower today.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday, the front-month contract for benchmark crude was sliding another $2.67 to $66.30. This, after Wednesday's $2.79 tumble that found the November delivery contract settling at $68.97.

The big move down followed inventory news from the Energy Department, showing continuing build ups in crude, gasoline and distillate stocks on top of already high inventories.

Major oil stocks were sliding on the day, as Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote), Chevron and ConocoPhillips(COP Quote) were losing 0.8%, 1.2% and 1.8% each by midday.

Shares of Marathon Oil were down 1.3%, while American depositary shares of BP were off 2.3%.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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