Oil Falls After U.S. Supplies Climb to Most Since 1990
Oil dropped to an eight-month low
after the Energy Department reported that U.S. crude inventories
climbed to the highest level in 22 years. Brent crude
in London
tumbled to an 18-month low.
Futures in New York declined 2.7 percent after the
department said supplies rose 2.86 million barrels to 387.3
million last week, the highest level since July 1990. The
decline accelerated after Federal Reserve policy makers lowered
their outlook for growth and employment.
“We are down because inventories were plentiful even
before today’s report,” said Todd Horwitz, chief strategist at
Adam Mesh Trading Group in Chicago. “We will probably take out
$80 in the next couple weeks.”
Crude oil for July delivery fell $2.23 to $81.80 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since
Oct. 5. Prices are down 17 percent this year. The July contract
expired today. The more actively traded August contract dropped
$2.90, or 3.4 percent, to $81.45.
Brent oil for August declined $3.07, or 3.2 percent, to
$92.69 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange,
the lowest settlement since Dec. 17, 2010.
The increase in stockpiles was the first in three weeks.
The median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was a
decline of 1.3 million barrels.
Surging Output
U.S. crude production climbed 117,000 barrels a day to 6.35
million in the week ended June 15, the highest level since
February 1999, the report showed. Crude imports increased
328,000 barrels a day to 9.45 million last week, the highest
level since March.
Total fuel demand dropped 4.2 percent to an average 18.6
million barrels a day, the biggest decrease since March.
Gasoline and distillate inventories both advanced.
Fed officials lowered their central tendency estimate for
U.S. 2012 gross domestic product growth to 1.9 percent to 2.4
percent from 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent in April. They forecast
the jobless rate will average 8 percent to 8.2 percent in the
fourth quarter of 2012, up from a previous estimate of 7.8
percent to 8 percent.
The Fed said it will expand the Operation Twist stimulus
program by $267 billion through the end of the year. In
Operation Twist, the central bank sells short-term securities
and buys the same amount of longer-term debt to lengthen the
average maturity of its holdings and keep borrowing costs low.
“The Fed is in the driver’s seat,” said David McAlvany,
chief executive officer of McAlvany Financial Group in Durango, Colorado. “Hedge funds have been selling futures because they
aren’t getting enough liquidity from the Fed.”
Quarterly Decline
Crude in New York has dropped 21 percent in the second
quarter as Europe’s financial woes have raised concern about the
region’s economic recovery and future energy demand. Brent crude
has fallen 25 percent in the quarter.
Spain is scheduled to sell debt tomorrow maturing in 2014,
2015 and 2017. Yields on the nation’s 10-year government debt
increased to 7.29 percent on June 18, the highest level since
the euro was introduced in 1999. Yields remain above the 7
percent level that pushed Greece, Ireland and Portuagal to seek
rescue packages.
“Until the situation in Europe stabilizes, the oil market
will trend lower,” said Chip Hodge, who oversees a $9 billion
natural-resource bond portfolio as senior managing director at
Manulife Asset Management in Boston. “How long it will take to
shake out is anyone’s guess. There’s no easy fix.”
European Summit
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy will gather June 22 in Rome. The meeting is to
help prepare for a June 28-29 European Union summit in Brussels
at which leaders will discuss the path to further financial
integration, including proposals for closer banking cooperation.
“The Europeans appear to be headed for further economic
and financial integration,” said Bill O’Grady, chief market
strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St.Louis,
which oversees $1.3 billion. “It will take time.”
Merkel declined to commit to directing sovereign debt
purchases through the euro-area bailout fund, pushing back on
calls by euro-region leaders who backed the measure as a way to
ease the crisis. Yesterday, Hollande championed the idea of
using the European Stability Mechanism to purchase indebted
countries’ bonds as a way to counter rising yields.
Futures climbed 0.4 percent early in the session after Iran
and world powers failed to reach a breakthrough after two days
of talks in Moscow aimed at alleviating the threat of military
action against the second-biggest oil producer in the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“All eyes are on Europe and the global economy,” said
Fred Rigolini, vice president of Paramount Options Inc. in New York. “I don’t think many people are worried about Iran.”
Electronic trading volume on the Nymex was 708,558
contracts as of 3:23 p.m. in New York. Volume totaled 554,402
contracts yesterday, versus the three-month average of 553,000.
Open interest was 1.43 million.