SG:Oil falls to near USD 88 on surprise US supply jump
AP reported that oil prices fell to near USD 88 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia after a report showed US crude supplies unexpectedly jumped last week, a sign demand may be weakening.
Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 45 cents to USD 88.45 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose USD 1.63 to settle at USD 88.90 on Tuesday.
In London, Brent crude for October delivery was down 5 cents at USD 113.97 on the ICE Futures exchange.
The American Petroleum Institute said that crude inventories rose 5.1 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos had predicted a drop of 1.2 million barrels.
API said that inventories of gasoline dropped 3.1 million barrels last week while distillates increased 276,000 barrels.
Signs of waning consumer sentiment also weighed on crude. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index sank more than expected in August from July, dropping to the lowest since April 2009.
Energy trader and consultant The Schork Group in a report said that “The latest readings on consumer behavior underscore the notion that the economy still has an awfully long way to go.”
