RTRS: NYMEX-Crude slips as storm Alex threat seen eased
* Storm Alex seen on western track, less threat to output
* U.S. consumer spending up in May, supportive to oil
* Coming up: API oil inventory data on Tuesday
NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell
on Monday as the threat from Tropical Storm Alex to U.S. Gulf
of Mexico oil and natural gas production eased, pulling crude
oil and refined products futures prices lower.
"The petroleum markets are coming under some moderate
selling pressure ... as it looks as though (Alex) may thread
its way around most oil production areas," Tim Evans, analyst
at Citi Futures Perspective in New York, wrote in a note.
Crude futures jumped more than 3 percent to a seven-week
high on Friday on the threat of tropical weather moving into
the Gulf of Mexico and disrupting production as well as
operations at U.S. refineries concentrated on the Gulf Coast.
Tropical storm Alex became better organized as it slowly
moved away from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Forecasters said it
could become a hurricane on Monday or Tuesday.
The storm is expected to make landfall again between
Brownsville, Texas, and Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano in Mexico.
[ID:nN28210327]
U.S. Coast Guard officials have said they do not think the
storm poses an imminent threat to oil-siphoning efforts at BP
Plc's (BP.L)(BP.N) blown-out Gulf of Mexico well.
Shell Oil Co (RDSa.L) shut production at the Auger and
Brutus platforms due to the storm threat, but declined to say
how much oil and natural gas output was affected.
[ID:nN27622581]
U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in
May even as savings touched their highest level in eight
months, a government report showed on Monday. [ID:nN25167386]
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:28 a.m. EDT
(1428 GMT), August crude CLQ0 was down 71 cents, or 0.9
percent, at $78.15 a barrel, trading from $77.72 to $79.38.
* The $64.24 intraday low on May 20 was the weakest
front-month price since $62.76 was struck on July 30, 2009. The
2010 peak of $87.15 was struck on May 3.
* In London on the Intercontinental Exchange, August Brent
crude LCOQ0 fell 56 cents, or 0.72 percent, to $77.56 a
barrel, trading from $77.06 to $78.66.
* NYMEX July RBOB RBN0 fell 2.69 cents, or 1.24 percent,
to $2.1409 a gallon, trading from $2.1302 to $2.17.
* NYMEX July heating oil HON0 fell 2.22 cents, or 1.05
percent, to $2.09 a gallon, trading from $2.0803 to $2.1148.
* NYMEX June refined products contracts expire Wednesday.
* The August/August heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R>
was at $10.60 a barrel. The August/August spread ended Friday
at $10.74. The August/August RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was
at $11.48. The August/August spread ended Friday at $11.81.
* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $9.83, based on
the August 2015 contract Friday settlement at $87.98. The
spread ended on Friday at $9.12.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $77.36/$75.37
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $76.48/$79.94
NYMEX heating oil: $2.0728/$2.1516
NYMEX RBOB: $2.1267/$2.2089
For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLDE65R182]
MARKET NEWS
* The euro fell broadly as potential funding tensions in
Europe this week weighed on the single currency. [USD/]
* The dollar index .DXY was up, measuring the greenback's
strength against a basket of currencies.
* World leaders agreed on Sunday to take different paths
for cutting budget deficits and making their banking systems
safer. The G20 pledged to halve budget deficits by 2013 without
stunting growth, and to clamp down on risky bank behavior
without choking off lending. [ID:nN26228300]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; editing by Jim Marshall)