Oil fell, headed for its biggest monthly drop in New York since May, after U.S. companies added fewer jobs than expected in August and an industry report showed crude stockpiles increased. Futures dropped for the first time in a week after ADP Employer Services reported companies added 91,000 workers to payrolls, fewer than the 100,000 median forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The American Petroleum Institute said yesterday that crude stockpiles had the biggest one-week gain since March in the seven days to Aug. 26. “Crude is seeing some of the effects of the economic data this morning,” said Tom Bentz, a broker with BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. “Inventories last night had a pretty significant build in crude stocks.” Crude for October delivery dropped 42 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $88.48 a barrel at 9:08 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 7.5 percent this month and 3.2 percent this year. Brent oil for October settlement gained 7 cents to $114.09 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract was at a premium of $25.61 to U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures, compared with a record close of $26.21 on Aug. 19. Brent is down 2.3 percent this month. The API reported that crude supplies rose 5.13 million barrels last week to 352.2 million barrels in a report issued after the close of floor trading on the Nymex. An Energy Department report today may say inventories fell 500,000 barrels, according to the median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. “With the slowdown in economic growth and higher probability of recession, prices are probably a bit too high,” said Eliane Tanner, an analyst at Bank Sarasin & Cie AG in Zurich, who predicts Brent will move toward $95 a barrel by the end of the year. “I don’t see much further upside.”

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