Crude oil was little changed in New York after rising to a seven-week high as the dollar’s decline bolstered speculative demand for commodities and amid concern an Atlantic tropical storm will disrupt production. Oil traded near $79 a barrel as Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, moved into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. It may become a hurricane within 48 hours, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The dollar fell before reports this week that economists said will show U.S. consumer confidence waned and manufacturing growth slowed this month. “Crude prices will remain variable,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “At the moment, the crude market is not particularly tight although inventories remain relatively high. Markets are watching developments with the tropical depression Alex.” Oil for August delivery was at $78.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 6 cents, at 1:11 p.m. Singapore time. Earlier, it rose as much as 0.7 percent to $79.38, the highest since May 6. Futures, up 10 percent in the past year, are set to lose 1.5 percent between April and June, the first quarterly decline in three. The dollar fell for a fourth day against the 16-nation euro, boosting the investment appeal of commodities as a hedge against inflation. The U.S. currency was $1.2381 to the euro at 1:10 p.m. in Singapore, after slipping to $1.2398. It also dropped to the lowest level in almost eight weeks against Switzerland’s franc. G-20 Meeting Group of 20 leaders endorsed targets to cut deficits and agreed to pursue higher capital requirements for banks once their economic recoveries take root, according to a statement released as a meeting in Toronto yesterday. Advanced economies will aim to at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize their debt-to-output ratios by 2016, the statement said. The G-20 also pledged to maintain existing stimulus plans and take “concerted actions” to sustain the recovery. “The G-20 are trying to give some certainty to markets that fiscal issues will be dealt with,” said Moore at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “But how those things are going to balance, I’m not entirely sure yet.” Brent crude for August delivery was at $78.20 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, up 8 cents, at 1 p.m. Singapore time. On June 25, the contract gained $1.65, or 2.2 percent, to $78.12, settling higher for a second day. Storm Alex Tropical Storm Alex has so far spared efforts by BP Plc to contain and clean up the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The company expects to plug the gusher, which is spewing as much as 60,000 barrels a day of crude, by August. Alex, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour, was about 60 miles west-southwest of Campeche in Mexico and moving west-northwest at 7 mph, the hurricane center said in an advisory on its website posted at 10 p.m. Miami time yesterday. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, it said. The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, is closely monitored by the energy and agriculture industries because of the potential impact of storms on production areas. Florida is the world’s largest orange grower after Brazil. The Gulf is home to about 30 percent of U.S. oil and 12 percent of its natural gas production. It also has seven of the 10 busiest U.S. ports, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net

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