Fall extended after S&P cuts outlook on U.S. credit rating
By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell below $107 a barrel Tuesday, extending losses after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded its outlook on the U.S. credit rating.
Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery CLK11 -0.15% — which expires at the end of trading Tuesday — fell 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $106.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The more actively traded June contract CLM11 -0.15% fell 47 cents, or 0.5%, to $107.21 a barrel.
Investors sold out of crude in Monday’s session in New York after S&P cut its outlook on the U.S. credit rating.
Traders will be waiting for their first glimpse of oil inventories later Tuesday, when the American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release its weekly data.
Official word comes on Wednesday, when the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration reports its data. Analysts expect crude supplies to rise by 700,000 barrels, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
