July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, paring a 6 percent gain yesterday, on concern fuel demand in the U.S., the biggest energy-consuming nation, will be slow to recover. Oil is set for its first weekly decline in three after U.S. supplies unexpectedly climbed last week and a measure of U.S. consumer confidence trailed projections. Prices climbed yesterday after better-than-expected corporate earnings and as jobless claims held below June levels. “There’s enough oil about that prices might ultimately slip back a little bit to the $60 a-barrel area,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “A lot will depend on how the macro data plays out because that is such an important driver of the oil market at the moment.” Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as 45 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $66.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $66.55 at 9 a.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, it rose $3.59 to settle at $66.94, the biggest gain since April 9. Prices are down 2.2 percent this week, heading for the first weekly decline since July 10. Oil inventories, expected by analysts to decline on recovering fuel demand, gained 5.15 million barrels to 347.8 million in the week to July 24, according to the Energy Department on July 29. Confidence Index “The data did show a build in crude and left the impression there is plenty of weakness about U.S. demand,” Moore said. “Last night’s movements in oil prices was mainly macro-economic factors more than oil market fundamentals.” The Conference Board’s confidence index dropped to 46.6, a second consecutive decline, following a reading of 49.3 in June, a report from the New York-based group showed July 28. The figure reached a record low of 25.3 in February. U.S. stocks rose and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index approached a nine-month high yesterday as companies from Motorola Inc. to MasterCard Inc. posted better-than-estimated results and jobless claims held below June levels. The Labor Department’s weekly jobless data released yesterday bolstered expectations firings are slowing as the economy stabilizes. Brent crude oil for September settlement dropped as much as 44 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $69.67 a barrel, and was at $69.80 at 9:02 a.m. Singapore time on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday, it gained $3.58, or 5.4 percent, to settle at $70.11 a barrel. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

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