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Crude extends losses on Chinese data, supply numbers, ignores U.S. data

Published 05/24/2013, 01:13 PM
Updated 05/24/2013, 01:14 PM

Investing.com - Oil prices extended Thursday's losses into U.S. trading on Friday after soft Chinese industrial data and rising U.S. gasoline supplies continued to pressure prices lower on fears supply is outstripping demand.

Solid durables goods data failed to boost spirits in energy markets.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 0.39% at USD93.88 a barrel on Friday, off from a session high of USD94.43 and up from an earlier session low of USD93.05.

Earlier this week, a preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 in May from a final reading of 50.4 in April, missing market expectations for a 50.5 reading.

China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil, and the disappointing output numbers sent crude prices falling on sentiment that global demand for goods produced in the Asian giant's all-important manufacturing sector may be weaker than once thought.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 338,000 barrels in the week ended May 17, compared to expectations for a decline of 778,000 barrels.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 394.6 million barrels as of last week.

Total motor gasoline inventories, however, increased by 3.02 million barrels, well above expectations for an increase of 22,000 barrels, which sent crude prices falling on fears less Americans may be traveling this summer in an economy that is already awash in crude oil.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

Better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data failed to offset the losses.

The Commerce Department reported earlier Friday that core durable goods orders, which are stripped of volatile transportation items, rose 1.3% in April, beating expectations for a 0.5% increase after contracting by 1.7% in March.

Broader orders for durable goods, which include transportation items, rose 3.3% last month, more than market calls for a 1.5% increase after a 5.9% contraction in March.

Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were unchanged at USD102.45 a barrel, up USD8.57 from its U.S. counterpart.









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