West Texas Intermediate declined for a second day before a report forecast to show crude stockpiles increased last week in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of the commodity. Futures declined as much as 0.5 percent in New York. U.S. crude inventories probably rose by 550,000 barrels to 391.8 million last week, and U.S. gasoline supplies by 500,000 barrels to 219.3 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey before the report tomorrow from the Energy Information Administration. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will release monthly estimates of supply and demand today. “Fundamentals are still skewed towards over-supply, though there are some minor clouds on the horizon,� Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management in Middelfart, Denmark. WTI for July delivery fell by as much as 52 cents to $95.25 a barrel and was at $95.37 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:18 a.m. London time. The volume of all futures traded was 39 percent below the 100-day average. The contract settled at $95.77 yesterday, the lowest close since June 6. Brent for July settlement decreased 51 cents to $103.44 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark grade’s premium to WTI shrank to as little as $7.88 a barrel today, the narrowest gap since May 22. Fuel Supplies Distillate inventories, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably increased by 900,000 barrels to 124.2 million, according to Bloomberg’s survey of estimates for the EIA data survey. Refinery utilization rates in the U.S. climbed 0.3 percentage points to 88.7 percent, the highest since the seven days ended Jan. 4, the survey of analysts shows. The Memorial Day holiday on May 27 marks the start of the nation’s peak driving period, and plants typically boost output this time of year to meet summer demand for motor fuel. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release separate stockpile data today. The API collects the information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, for its weekly survey. Global resources of oil and natural gas from shale formations are greater than previously estimated, the EIA said yesterday in an assessment. Shale gas estimates increased by 10 percent from 2011 to 7,299 trillion cubic feet. Reserves of tight oil, which wasn’t assessed in 2011, may be 345 billion barrels, the EIA said in the report. Deposits of tight oil, which can be tapped by hydraulic fracturing, are greatest in Russia, followed by the U.S. and China, the EIA said. Shale gas reserves are largest in China, Argentina and Algeria. The report doesn’t assess all prospective shale formations, omitting those under large oil fields in the Middle East and the Caspian region because of a lack of data. The International Energy Agency, an adviser to oil-consuming nations, will publish its monthly estimates of supply and demand tomorrow. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net gsmith52@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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