By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell Wednesday after big gains in the previous session.
With a two-day rally from below $80-a-barrel now showing signs of running out of steam, West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery CL1X -1.02% dropped 0.4% to $84.15 a barrel in electronic trades.
On Tuesday, crude posted its biggest one-day gain in four months. And on Monday, crude futures moved up modestly after trading as low as $77.11 a barrel.
On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he expects the European Central Bank to do whatever is necessary to ensure financial stability in the euro zone — a statement that fed into Wall Street’s hopes for a gradual resolution of the sovereign-debt crisis.
Meanwhile, investors will keep close watch for the government’s release of weekly data on petroleum inventories, data due out at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
