Oil traded near the lowest price in more than a week on signs that consumer confidence and demand for fuel are slipping in the U.S., the biggest crude consumer. Futures were little changed in New York before a U.S. Energy Department report forecast to show crude supplies gained for a second week. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed stockpiles rose to the highest level since November. Oil fell for a third day yesterday after the government said consumer confidence and business activity cooled. Greece pledged to prevent the collapse of a second rescue package. “In the U.S., we have seen long-term demand destruction on gasoline that may never come back, even if the economy improves,� Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We still have a significant Iranian risk premium. That is only being offset by European uncertainty.� Crude for March delivery was at $98.72 a barrel, up 13 cents in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12.40 p.m. Singapore time. The contract yesterday declined 0.3 percent to $98.48 a barrel, the lowest since Jan. 20. Prices slid 0.4 percent in January, falling for a second month. Brent oil for March settlement gained 45 cents to $111.43 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s premium to West Texas Intermediate futures traded at $12.70, the highest since Nov. 15. That compares with a record spread of $27.88 on Oct. 14. Crude Stockpiles Oil in New York has technical resistance along the 50-day moving average around $99.17 a barrel today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Futures settled below that indicator in the previous two days. Investors tend to sell contracts close to chart-resistance levels. U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels last week to 339.5 million barrels, the highest since the week ended Nov. 11, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed yesterday. An Energy Department report today may show they increased by 2.6 million barrels, according to the median of 12 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Gasoline supplies are projected to rise 500,000 barrels, according to the survey. The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The Energy Department requires that reports be filed for its weekly survey, which is scheduled to be released at 10:30 a.m. U.S. drivers bought 8.51 million barrels a day of gasoline in the week ended Jan. 27, according to MasterCard Inc.’s SpendingPulse report on Jan. 31. While that was up from 8.48 million the prior week, fuel demand fell below year-earlier levels for the 22nd consecutive time last week, declining 5.5 percent from 2011, the report said. Refiner Strike The United Steelworkers union and Royal Dutch Shell Plc agreed on a three-year contract, subject to union membership approval, averting a potential strike that would have idled as many as 69 plants. The New York-based Conference Board’s confidence index decreased to 61.1, lower than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, from a revised 64.8 the prior month. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said yesterday its business barometer declined to 60.2 from 62.2 in December. Readings above 50 signal growth. The European Union has announced plans to ban Iranian oil imports starting in July and to freeze the assets of the country’s central bank as part of sanctions against its nuclear program. Iran’s Foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi said this week that the International Atomic Energy Agency team would be visiting some of the country’s nuclear sites and could extend its stay if it needed to. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Anderson in Singapore at manderson34@bloomberg.net.

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