Crude oil fell to an eight-week low in New York, and slid to a record discount versus London’s Brent, as a bigger-than-forecast gain in U.S. jobless claims bolstered concern that the economy will be slow to recover.
Futures dropped 1.9 percent after Labor Department figures showed applications for jobless benefits rose 51,000 to 454,000 last week. Orders for U.S. durable goods decreased in December.
“The market has just collapsed,” said Stephen Schork, president of Schork Group Inc., a consulting company in Villanova, Pennsylvania. “The economic numbers today were horrendous. We’ve had one bearish headline after another since last week.”
Crude oil for March delivery tumbled $1.69 to $85.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement price since Nov. 30. Futures are up 16 percent from a year ago.
Brent crude oil for March settlement fell 52 cents, or 0.5 percent, to end the session at $97.39 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Brent’s premium over Nymex-traded West Texas Intermediate widened to a record $11.75 a barrel. Investors are buying Brent contracts as a buildup of supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York-traded West Texas Intermediate oil, skews the U.S. grade’s reliability as an indicator of demand. more ...
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