Oil fluctuated after falling for the first time in four days yesterday in New York as speculation that China will take more steps to boost its economy countered signs of weakening demand in the U.S., the biggest crude user. Futures were down as much as 0.1 percent today and then up 0.3 percent. U.S. petroleum consumption fell 1.1 percent last week, the first drop in four weeks, according to a report from the Energy Department yesterday. China’s inflation cooled for a fourth straight month in July, providing more room for policies to stimulate growth in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. “Demand has softened in the U.S.,� said Jonathan Barratt, the chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity- markets newsletter in Sydney, who predicts New York oil faces technical resistance at $94.50 a barrel. “Crude prices have had a very good run. All eyes are on the Chinese data today.� Oil for September delivery was at $93.65 a barrel, up 30 cents in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:49 p.m. Singapore time. It fell 32 cents yesterday to $93.35, the lowest settlement since Aug. 6. The contract is up 20 percent from its lowest close this year of $77.69 on June 28. Prices are 5.3 percent lower since the start of the year. Brent crude for September settlement gained 11 cents to $112.25 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark’s premium to West Texas Intermediate was at $18.60, down from $18.79 yesterday. China Inflation China’s consumer prices rose 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today in Beijing. That compares with the 1.7 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 33 economists and a 2.2 percent gain in June. Producer prices fell 2.9 percent from a year earlier, the fifth straight drop, the report showed. The deceleration in price gains may encourage policy makers to introduce more measures to support growth, aiding efforts to reverse an economic slowdown that’s lasted six quarters. U.S. crude stockpiles fell 3.7 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said. They were forecast to decline 1.6 million barrels, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Total products supplied, a measure of fuel consumption, dropped 204,000 barrels a day to 18.9 million last week, the first decline since the week ended July 6, according to the Energy Department report. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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