Oil swung between gains and losses in New York after European finance ministers failed to agree on a debt-reduction package for Greece. Prices rose earlier after a report showed crude stockpiles shrank in the U.S. Futures were little changed, paring an advance of 0.8 percent, after finance chiefs meeting in Brussels were unable to gather enough funds to alleviate Greece’s debt burden, stoking speculation that the regional crisis will worsen and curb fuel demand. The American Petroleum Institute said yesterday crude inventories fell for the second week in three. An Energy Department report today is forecast to show supplies increased. “Europe has a long road ahead of it,� said Anthony Nunan, a senior adviser for risk management at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo. “The resolution of the base issues could take years.� Crude for January delivery was at $86.99 a barrel, up 24 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 4 p.m. Singapore time. The contract dropped $2.53 yesterday to $86.75, the biggest decline since Nov. 7. Prices are down 12 percent this year. Brent oil for January settlement was up 36 cents at $110.19 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $23.18 to New York- traded West Texas Intermediate grade. The spread was $23.08 yesterday, the widest in three days. Price Forecasts Societe Generale SA raised its predictions for global oil prices next year, citing a “neutral outlook� for market fundamentals. The bank increased its Brent price outlook to $110 a barrel from $103 before, according to an e-mailed report. It forecasts WTI will advance to $97 a barrel, up from an earlier 2013 forecast of $92. Brent oil may trade between $105 and $112 a barrel in coming months, according to Nunan at Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) New York crude decreased yesterday after failing to trade higher than the 50-day moving average for a second day, signaling technical resistance, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This indicator, about $89.56 a barrel today, is where sell orders may be clustered. Crude rallied to $100 on Sept. 14, two months after breaching this chart-resistance level. European finance ministers ended more than 11 hours of talks with a declaration that an accord on Greece’s financing package will wait at least until a meeting on Nov. 26. An aid payment held up since June remained frozen. The euro fell 0.4 percent from yesterday to $1.2766. A stronger dollar typically reduces investor demand for commodities priced in the U.S. currency. Fuel Supplies U.S. crude stockpiles slid 1.9 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 16, the API’s report showed. Supplies probably rose 1 million barrels, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Department of Energy data. “The stockpile numbers have been volatile and we’ll look to the DOE data� for direction, said Jonathan Barratt, the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity newsletter in Sydney. Gasoline and distillate inventories shrank to the lowest levels since 2008, the API said. Gasoline slid 4.8 million barrels, compared with a gain of 1 million barrels in the Bloomberg survey. Distillates, including diesel and heating oil, declined 4.4 million barrels, compared with a projected 1 million-barrel decrease. The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department in Washington for its weekly survey. U.S. markets will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net; Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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