By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch)—Crude-oil futures moved lower in electronic trading Monday amid lingering speculation about strategic-supply releases.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for May delivery CLK2 -0.21% fell 53 cents, or 0.5%, to $102.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reversing some modest gains during Asian trading hours.
On Friday, crude oil advanced 0.2%, to end the quarter with a 4.2% gain, although speculation concerning the release of emergency oil supplies from several developed countries contributed to the bearish tone that gripped the oil market most of the last week.
“While the exact timing and quantity of the release remains an unknown, a strategic stock release of some sort—within or without the auspices of the International Energy Agency—seems highly likely over the next few months,” strategists at Barclays Capital said.
“However, we believe also that a large part of a potential stock release is already being priced in and has been one of the key deterrents from prices moving higher,” the strategists said.
They added that outside the U.S., “oil demand remains strong, with the Asian-Pacific region in particular continuing to surprise to the upside.”
Data released on Sunday delivered a mixed picture on the growth outlook and potential energy demand in China—with an official survey on manufacturing showing a much better-than-expected improvement in March, while a rival survey from HSBC out the same day showed a weaker result. Read Chinese manufacturing.
