Weekly petroleum supply data awaited; API says inventories fell last week
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures fell further Wednesday after another report signaled the U.S. economy is slowing down and ahead of data expected to show rising oil supplies.
Crude oil for October delivery was lately off 12 cents at $71.50 a barrel in electronic trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In the latest batch of economic reports, the government reported U.S. orders for durable goods rose 0.3% in July, much less than expected.
After a "slew of bad news", the impact of each new bit of data on oil prices seems to be weakening, said energy analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase in morning comments. But they added it would take some very bullish news for oil, such as a supply or better news from China, to see oil reverse higher.
On Tuesday, crude settled at an 11-week low after a report showed U.S. existing home sales had their biggest slump on record in July.
After the close of trading, the American Petroleum Institute said crude oil inventories fell 1.85 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 20.
The more closely watched government report is slated for release at 10.30 a.m. Eastern.
Analysts surveyed by Platts expect an increase of around 1.1 million barrels for oil.
