By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude oil futures fell early on Wednesday, pressured by lingering concerns that Chinese moves to curb lending might hit demand, and ahead of weekly U.S. supplies data.
Crude oil for January delivery (CLF11 82.35, -0.49, -0.59%) fell 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.57 a barrel.
“Now with inflation running wild in China, the market knows that the Chinese are going to have to tap on the breaks, striking a major blow to global oil demand expectations,” said Phil Flyn, energy analyst at PFGBest, in a note.
On Tuesday, oil for December delivery slumped 3%, hit by concerns about China and debt woes in Europe, to end at its lowest settlement since Oct. 29. The contract expired at the end of trading Tuesday.
The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday said supplies of crude oil declined 7.65 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 12. The government’s tally from the Energy Department will be released at 10.30 am Eastern.
Analysts polled by Platts expect an increase of 1.2 million barrels for crude-oil stocks, a rise of 650,000 barrels for gasoline stocks, and a decline of 1.8 million barrels for distillates stocks.
