Crude oil fell for a sixth day in New York, extending yesterday’s 7.9 percent slump on speculation oil inventories increased last week as demand declined. An Energy Department report tomorrow will probably show U.S. crude stockpiles gained 2.25 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 9, according to a Bloomberg survey. Oil for February delivery is now at a 35 percent discount to the December future, a market situation known as contango where traders fetch higher prices for contracts for later delivery. “We’ve got a pretty strong incentive to store oil with the way the forward curve is structured at the moment,” said Toby Hassall, an analyst with Commodity Warrants Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “That just reflects that there is limited demand for oil at the moment, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a continuation of the trend of rising inventories.” Crude oil for February delivery fell as much as 99 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $36.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was as $37.66 a barrel at 2:02 p.m. Singapore time. Prices are down 25 percent in the past six days and dropped to a four-year low of $32.40 on Dec. 19. Futures fell $3.24 to $37.59 a barrel yesterday, the lowest settlement since Dec. 24 on concern OPEC output cuts won’t be enough to counter weaker demand. Oil is down 61 percent from a year ago. Corn Declines Most commodities declined yesterday because of falling demand for raw materials, with corn, soybeans and wheat dropping the most allowed by the Chicago Board of Trade and gold slumping the most in six weeks. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 prices slid as much as 4 percent. Corn futures in Chicago today fell as much as 2.6 percent to $3.7075 a bushel, extending yesterday’s 7.3 percent decline. Brent crude oil for February settlement was at $42.81 a barrel, down 10 cents, on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:48 p.m. Singapore time. It declined $1.51, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $42.91 a barrel yesterday. U.S. crude-oil and fuel inventories probably rose last week as refineries reduced operating rates and the recession curbed consumption, a Bloomberg News survey of analysts showed. Crude-oil stockpiles probably increased 2.25 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 9 from 325.4 million the week before, according to the median of eight analyst estimates before an Energy Department report this week. It would be the 14th gain in 16 weeks. Seven of the analysts said there was an increase and one forecast a decline. ‘Weak Fundamentals’ Gasoline stockpiles probably rose 1.5 million barrels from 211.4 million, according to the survey. Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably climbed 1.5 million barrels from 137.8 million. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a Jan. 9 report that “weak underlying economic fundamentals” will dominate the oil market. The bank maintained a forecast that oil will fall to $30 a barrel this quarter. Oil inventories in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations will probably rise to a 10-year high in the next two months, Goldman analysts Giovanni Serio and Jeffrey Currie said in the report. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, agreed last month to slash production quotas by 9 percent to revive prices as the global recession erodes demand. Oil has plunged more than $100 a barrel in the past six months. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s biggest state oil company, sent notices to refiners in Asia on Jan. 9 that it would lower crude supplies to the region by about 10 percent in February. This was the third straight month that the company reduced sales.

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