USD 92.5919

+0.02

EUR 100.2704

-0.14

Brent 86.88

+1.19

Natural gas 1.752

+0.04

620

Crude Oil Declines a Third Day

Oil declined for a third day in New York amid speculation a report on new homes may add to signs U.S. fuel demand will remain weak and as the dollar gained, curbing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment

Crude Oil Declines a Third Day

Crude fell as the U.S. currency climbed for a second day against the euro after rebounding from the lowest level since January. Ground was broken on 3 percent fewer houses in September, economists estimated before Commerce Department figures due tomorrow. The decline came even after hedge funds raised bets on gains in oil prices last week.

“For every bit of economic data we have to watch a few months to see if there is sign of recovery,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivative sales manager at brokers Newedge in Tokyo. “Seems oil will stay in a range between $80 to $84. After oil reached $84 last week, now is a time for profit-taking.”

The November contract dropped as much as 69 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $80.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $80.70 at 1:40 p.m. Singapore time. Futures lost $1.44, or 1.7 percent, to $81.25 on Oct. 15, the lowest settlement since Sept. 30.

The market is in its longest pullback since a four-day drop through Sept. 17. Crude climbed as high as $84.12 a barrel on Oct. 14. Prices slipped 1.7 percent last week and are up 1.8 percent this year.

Brent crude for December settlement declined as much as 65 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $81.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The contract on Oct. 15 dropped $1.75, or 2.1 percent, to $82.45.

The dollar climbed 0.7 percent to $1.3882 per euro. The U.S. currency rose 0.8 percent to $1.3977 on Oct. 15, after sliding to $1.4159, the lowest level since Jan. 26.

U.S. September retail sales advanced 0.6 percent following a 0.7 percent gain in August that was larger than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Oct. 15. Purchases were projected to increase 0.4 percent, according to the median estimate of 80 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Work began on 580,000 houses at an annual rate, down 3 percent from August, according to the median estimate of 56 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

“Oil continues to be heavily impacted by U.S. dollar movements,” said Ben Westmore, minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. “The data out of the U.S. is pretty choppy at the moment. Some are more positive than others, some are weaker than you expect.”

U.S. consumption of refined products rose 1.8 percent in September from the year before, signaling demand is recovering as the economy rebounds, according to a report on Oct. 15 by the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based industry group. Fuel deliveries, a measure of demand, averaged 18.9 million barrels a day, up from 18.6 million in September 2009.

Net-long positions in oil held by what the Commodity Futures Trading Commission categorizes as managed money, including hedge funds, commodity pools and commodity trading advisers, rose by 10,198 futures and options combined, or 6.1 percent, to 178,738 contracts, the CFTC said.


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