WTI Oil Declines a Second Day as U.S. Crude Stockpiles Increase

West Texas Intermediate dropped for a second day, extending a monthly decline, as crude stockpiles increased in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Futures decreased as much as 0.8 percent in New York after the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories advanced 5.9 million barrels last week. A report from the Energy Information Administration today is projected to show supplies rose by 2.4 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. That will be a sixth week of gains, rising to the highest level in four months.

WTI for December delivery fell as much as 80 cents to $97.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $97.62 at 11:07 a.m. Sydney time. The contract slid 0.5 percent to $98.20 yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 77 percent above the 100-day average. Prices are down 4.6 percent this month.

Brent for December settlement fell as much as 31 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $108.70 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $11.12 to WTI futures, from $10.81 the previous session.

U.S. gasoline supplies increased 740,000 barrels, the API said. The report from the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, is forecast to show stockpiles fell by 200,000 barrels, according to the survey.

(Source: Bloomberg)