BLBG:WTI Drops for a Fourth Day as U.S. Crude Supplies Advance
West Texas Intermediate fell for a fourth day after industry data showed crude stockpiles rose for a ninth week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.
Futures slid as much as 0.3 percent in New York. Crude inventories increased by 6.92 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said yesterday. An Energy Information Administration report today is projected to show supplies climbed by 750,000 barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will keep its production quota unchanged at a meeting next week in Vienna, a separate survey shows.
“The key for the market will be those numbers” from the EIA, said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney who predicts OPEC will keep its output target unchanged at the Dec. 4 gathering. “New supply in the U.S. is causing a build-up of inventories.”
WTI for January delivery dropped as much as 32 cents to $93.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $93.39 at 3:45 p.m. Singapore time. The contract lost 0.4 percent to $93.68 yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was more than double the 100-day average.
Brent for January settlement gained 2 cents to $110.90 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $17.51 to WTI. The spread was $17.20 yesterday, the widest in more than eight months based on closing prices.
Fuel Supplies
WTI declined in the six weeks through Nov. 15, the longest losing streak in 15 years, as U.S. crude inventories expanded amid a surge in production. Stockpiles are projected to have risen to 389.2 million in the seven days ended Nov. 22, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed before the EIA report.
Gasoline supplies increased by 201,000 barrels last week, the API said. The EIA data will probably show a gain of 500,000 barrels, according to the survey. Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, fell by 1.71 million barrels, compared with a projected 1 million decrease in the survey.
The API in Washington collects 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.
OPEC Quota
OPEC, which pumps about 40 percent of the world’s crude, will reaffirm its output target of 30 million barrels a day at next week’s meeting, according to 18 of 20 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg. Two respondents said supply will be cut.
The 12-member group produced 30.62 million barrels a day last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up from 30.58 million in September.
Brent is unlikely to slide below a range of $95 to $100 a barrel for a full year amid supply risks and actions by OPEC, Adam Longson, a commodity analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York, said in a note yesterday.
WTI is extending losses as technical indicators signal a possible “death cross.” The 50-day moving average, at $98.57 a barrel today, is less than 10 cents above the 200-day mean, the smallest premium since the end of January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors typically sell contracts when a moving average falls below a longer-term one.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net
