MW: Oil futures head lower after three-session climb
By Myra P. Saefong and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures headed lower Monday, falling back below $96 a barrel after a three-session climb as traders fretted over ample U.S. supplies ahead of the latest weekly inventory reports.
Crude oil for June delivery CLM3 -0.12% shed 29 cents, or 0.3%, to $95.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract on Friday rose 86 cents, or 0.9%, to end at $96.02 a barrel after preliminary consumer-sentiment data in May rose to its highest level in nearly six years.
On Monday, without any major U.S economic data, traders refocused their attention on supplies.
A report on supplies from the American Petroleum Institute is due on Tuesday. Government data will be released Wednesday.
Total oil supplies remain near their highest weekly level in at least 30 years, according to Energy Information Administration data that stretch back to August 1982.
“It is a little hard to keep a rally going when we expect record-breaking supply,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group in Chicago. “The stock market can take us only so far.”
U.S. equities were mixed Monday, after posting gains in the previous session.
The dollar DXY -0.23% , meanwhile, edged a bit lower against the majority of its currency rivals, helping to limit losses for dollar-denominated oil prices.
In London, Brent crude UK:LCON3 -0.18% traded at $104.42, down 22 cents, or 0.2%.
On Nymex, June gasoline RBM3 -0.43% was down 2 cents, or 0.6%, at $2.89 a gallon, and June heating oil HOM3 +0.01% traded unchanged at $2.94 a gallon.
Natural gas for June delivery NGM13 +2.02% rose 8 cents, or 2%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.
Prices continued to draw support following news Friday that Freeport LNG Expansion received the OK from the U.S. Energy Department to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries.
“The Obama Administration signaled approval for exports, and the race will be on to outlet U.S. natural gas to world markets with much higher prices,” said analysts at the Kilduff Report.
Myra Saefong is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter @MktwSaefong.
Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.
