Oil Falls For Second Day In New York

Oil fell for a second day in New York and headed for the lowest close in three months after refiners reduced operations on the U.S. East Coast because of Hurricane Sandy. Futures slid as much as 0.5 percent after dropping 0.9 percent yesterday. Phillips 66, Hess Corp., NuStar Energy LP (NS) and PBF Energy Inc. shut or lowered output before Sandy made landfall. The storm, the largest in the Atlantic on record, has since been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center. Gasoline declined from the highest level in almost two weeks.

“In the short-term, we could see this disruptive event having an impact,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “With refiners shutting we’re likely to see oil reserves building and that’s likely to dampen the price.” West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell as much as 44 cents to $85.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $85.21 at 11:46 a.m. Singapore time. Prices closed at $85.54 yesterday, the lowest since 10th of July and are down 14 percent this year.

GOLD
Gold declined for the second straight session as a stronger dollar reduced demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. The dollar gained as much as 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies amid growing concern that Europe’s three-year-old debt crisis is weighing on the economy. Last week, the dollar rose 0.6 percent, while gold retreated 0.7 percent. Gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2 percent to settle at $1,708.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

The price has slipped 3.7 percent this month. CME Group Inc., the owner of Comex, said the New York trading floor was closed today as Hurricane Sandy headed toward the city. Additionally, gold prices were under pressure after US consumer spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in September, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending for August was unchanged at a 0.5% increase.