By Claudia Assis and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures retreated Friday after the International Energy Agency warned sluggish global growth could restrict demand for the commodity and after China reported weaker-than-expected trade data.
Oil for September delivery CLU2 -1.02% lost $1.10, or 0.1%, to $92.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude rose a penny to end Thursday at $93.36 a barrel, following news Tropical Storm Ernesto had shuttered some of Mexico’s oil installations. See Atlantic storms keep oil, natural-gas traders on edge.
Sentiment was dampened Friday after the International Energy Agency said a “sluggish economic growth” picture could keep annual oil demand growth pinned down to 900,000 barrels a day in 2012 and 800,000 in 2013. The IEA said global oil supply rose by 300,000 barrels a day in July, on a monthly basis, to 90.7 million barrels.
On Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned of a “horizon full of turbulence” that could lead to a sharp fall in demand growth for 2013. Its monthly oil market report showed the cartel’s output falling to its lowest level since February. Read: OPEC cuts production, warns of risks to oil demand
China reported that its trade surplus flattened out in July, while imports rose 4.7%, both falling short of expectations. The news took a dent out of global equities and other commodities as it increased worries about the outlook for the No. 2 global economy. This followed data earlier in the week that showed retail sales and deflation for producer prices, helping drive gains for markets, as it reinforced the view that officials in Beijing will be pushed to ease monetary policy further.
European and Asian stocks fell Friday and Wall Street followed suit, while the dollar rose as traders grew risk-averse.
In other trading, natural-gas futures NGU2 -4.18% , which had rallied more than 5% at one point in Thursday’s New York session, fell 12 cents, or 4.2%, to $2.82 per million British thermal units.
Natural-gas futures rallied briefly after the latest U.S. inventories report, though the contract finished modestly higher in the prior session.
September gasoline RBU2 -0.54% fell 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.98 a gallon. September heating oil HOU2 -0.71% fell 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.02 a gallon.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
