BLBG:Crude Oil Drops From Two-Week High in New York Before Vote on Europe Debt
Oil fell from the highest in more than two weeks in New York before a vote in Slovakia where one governing party may reject reinforcement of the euro area’s bailout fund.
Futures slipped as much as 0.8 percent. Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova’s party is seeking to pressure rebel lawmakers by tying the European Financial Stability Facility ratification to a no-confidence motion, two government officials said under condition of anonymity. An Energy Department report Oct. 13 may show U.S. crude supplies rose last week.
Crude for November delivery fell as much as 65 cents to $84.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $85.06 at 6:15 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday climbed 2.9 percent to $85.41, the highest close since Sept. 21. Prices are down 6.8 percent this year.
Brent oil for November settlement decreased 0.3 percent to $108.68 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract was at a premium of $23.62 to New York crude, compared with a record of $26.87 on Sept. 6.
London-traded Brent may fall toward $90 a barrel as Libya resumes oil production amid lower demand, according to a report today by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles likely rose by 1 million barrels last week, according to the median of nine analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey before a weekly Energy Department report on Oct. 13. The department is releasing the data a day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon in Hong Kong at pgordon6@bloomberg.net
