Updated data on U.S. petroleum supplies due for release at 10:30 a.m. Eastern
By Polya Lesova & Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures fell on Wednesday, pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. supplies and by the euro hitting a 10-month low against the dollar after Portugal's credit rating was downgraded.
Crude for May delivery dropped $1.46, or 1.4%, to $80.45 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
The contract earlier hit an intraday low of $80.35 a barrel.
Crude inventories rose by 7.5 million barrels last week, more than analysts had expected, as imports increased and refinery utilization declined, the American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday.
The government's Energy Information Administration will release a separate report on petroleum inventories at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts estimate an increase in commercial crude stockpiles of 1.67 million barrels for the week ended March 19. They also project supply drops of 1.88 million barrels for gasoline and 1.25 million barrels for distillates.
Also weighing on oil prices was the dollar's strength against most other major currencies. The dollar index (DXY 81.81, +0.92, +1.13%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.9% to 81.62.
The euro declined after Fitch Ratings downgraded Portugal's long-term foreign and local currency ratings by one notch, to AA- from AA previously. Read the MarketWatch piece on Portugal.
In the U.S., Commerce Department data showed durable-goods orders rising for a third straight month, signaling business confidence in the recovery. A report on sales of new homes for February showed sales of new homes fell 2.2%, more than expected,
