Oil slid back toward $60, dragged down with other commodities by a stronger dollar on the prospect of accelerating U.S. interest rate hikes and on concern over American crude supplies.
New York futures fell as much as 1.5 percent after closing lower on Wednesday for the first time in about a week. Investors are shunning risk assets from equities to industrial metals as they choose to focus on the possibility that U.S. interest rate increases will speed up after an upbeat growth outlook from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the nation’s crude stockpiles are forecast to have expanded last week.
A stronger greenback typically reduces the allure of commodities priced in the currency, threatening an oil rally that began in June on expectations for robust demand as well as output curbs by OPEC and allies such as Russia. Fears are also emerging over surging U.S. shale production and stockpiles, which could undermine efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to trim a global glut.
“While oil prices are reflecting the hawkish Fed minutes that’s currently giving a lift to the U.S. dollar, the impact won’t last too long,” Will Yun, a commodities analyst at Hyundai Futures Corp., said by phone in Seoul. “The market should worry more about surging American crude output, which will have a stronger influence on prices in the longer term.”
West Texas Intermediate for April delivery fell as much as 93 cents to $60.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $61.11 at 1:37 p.m. in Singapore. The contract lost 11 cents to close at $61.68 on Wednesday. Total volume traded was about 13 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for April settlement was down 46 cents at $64.96 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices gained 17 cents to close at $65.42 on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $3.87 premium to WTI.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the currency against 10 major peers, is up for a fifth consecutive day, the longest gaining streak since December, while the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which measures returns on 22 basic resources from crude to copper, fell 0.6 percent.
In equities, energy stocks were among the worst performers on an index for Asian shares, with PetroChina Co. dropping 1.6 percent in Hong Kong, South Korea’s S-Oil Corp. sliding 3.4 percent in Seoul and Inpex Corp. in Japan falling 2 percent.
Investors will also be watching U.S. inventory data from the Energy Information Administration due on Thursday. Nationwide stockpiles are forecast to have risen by 2.9 million barrels last week. By contrast, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report they fell by 907,000 barrels. (Bloomberg)
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