By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures traded below $91 a barrel on Thursday as concerns about the U.S. economy and Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis simmered, casting a pall on prospects for oil consumption. Crude for September delivery CL1U -1.48% declined $1.28, or 1.3%, to $90.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil settled at a five-week low on Wednesday. “Market participants are increasingly becoming uneasy about debt worries in the U.S. and the (euro zone), where Spain and Italy shifted further into a poor light,” analysts at JBC Energy said in a note to clients. In the previous session, a weekly inventories report showed an increase for crude supplies, contributing to the bearish sentiment. The Energy Information Administration is due to report on natural gas inventories at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Natural gas NG11U -0.44% for September delivery lost less than a penny to trade at $4.09 per million British thermal units. Analysts expect the report will show an increase around 38 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 29, according to analyst reports. Gasoline slumped further, with the September contract RB1U -1.75% off 4 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.88 per gallon. Gasoline stocks on Wednesday rose 1.7 million barrels, much more than analysts had expected. Demand trends are also problematic, analysts at Commerzbank said in a note to clients. “(I)f we look at gasoline demand in the past four weeks, this is still 3.6% lower than the same period last year,” they said.

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