“Oil headed for the fourth weekly decline in five in New York as signs of a slowing economy in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude user, countered concern that tension in the Middle East will disrupt supplies.
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed after falling 1 percent yesterday as a report showed U.S. unemployment claims climbed to the highest level since April 2011. Crudestockpiles grew last week to the highest since July as output rose to an 18-year high, according to the Energy Department. Oil pared losses after Israel said it’s ready to escalate military operations against Gaza.
“Supplies are overwhelming while demand is non-existent,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, a London-based analyst at VTB Capital who predicts WTI may slip to $84 a barrel this month. “Geopolitical risks are hopefully going to subside, and so ultimately macroeconomic and demand concerns will still dominate the agenda.”
WTI for December delivery, which expires today, slipped 15 cents to $85.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:28 p.m. London time. The January contract dropped 14 cents to $85.73. The front-month future dropped 87 cents yesterday to $85.45 and is down 0.9 percent this week. Prices have retreated 14 percent this year.
Brent for January settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange rose 28 cents to $108.27 a barrel. The front-month European benchmark grade was at premium of $22.55 to the corresponding WTI contract, from $25.53 yesterday.”
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