Oil fell, paring a second weekly gain in New York, on bets that fuel supplies are sufficient to meet demand and on concern that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis will intensify. Futures declined as much as 0.8 percent. Crude supplies fell 0.3 percent to 358.6 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said yesterday, remaining above their five-year average of 345 million. The Labor Department may say today the U.S. added 105,000 jobs in June, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The euro slid versus the dollar on concern the region’s banks may not be sufficiently stable. “We’ve seen a healthy pick-up in U.S. demand but there’s also a good supply situation in the world market,” said Tobias Merath, head of commodities research at Credit Suisse AG in Zurich. “We have doubts about whether prices can really move substantially higher from here.” Crude for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as much as 77 cents to $97.90 and was at $98.22 at 11:30 a.m. London time. The contract yesterday climbed to $98.67, the highest since June 14. Prices are 3.5 percent higher this week and up 30 percent in the past year. Brent oil for August settlement fell 65 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $117.94 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract surged 4.4 percent yesterday. Stress Tests Banks that fail this year’s round of European Union stress tests may need to present plans for making up their capital shortfall by the end of September, according to an internal European Union document. Banks may be given a further three months to implement these plans and raise the additional capital they need, according to the preliminary document obtained by Bloomberg News, dated July 7, that was prepared by government officials from the 27-nation region. “The current weakness of the euro on the back of the discussion of the ECB position on Greece and the bank stress tests in Europe is dragging on oil and commodities,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. The euro fell as much as 0.9 percent against the dollar. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday he was against a selective default for Greece. Oil’s advance in New York may stall before prices reach $100 a barrel because of technical resistance at the 50-day moving average, according to Bloomberg data. This level is at $99.18 today. Futures have been trading below the indicator for more than two months. Brent Spread Brent’s premium to New York crude futures is headed for a second weekly gain after widening the most in almost four months yesterday as Libyan output cuts and North Sea maintenance drive the European benchmark grade higher. Futures in London were $19.72 a barrel higher than West Texas Intermediate in New York yesterday, after widening $2.95 yesterday, the most since March 9. The gap between front-month futures of both grades surged to a record $22.29 on June 15. U.S. crude supplies fell 889,000 barrels to 358.6 million last week, the lowest level since April, an Energy Department report showed. A 2.5 million-barrel decline was projected, according to the median estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Stockpiles of crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate oil, the grade traded in New York, slipped 460,000 barrels to 37 million barrels last week, the Energy Department report showed. A 2.5 million-barrel decline in total U.S. crude supplies was projected for last week, according to the median estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The U.S. is the world’s biggest consumer of the commodity. To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net; Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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