Oil extends losses near $50

Bloomberg

Oil extended losses near $50 a barrel as US industry data showed an increase in gasoline stockpiles and a boost in crude inventories at the nation’s biggest storage hub.
Futures lost as much as 1% in New York after falling 2.4% in the previous two sessions. Gasoline supplies rose by 4.91 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. That will be the biggest gain since January if replicated in government data Wednesday. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, climbed by 2.08 million barrels.
While last month’s rally sent oil into a bull market amid stronger demand prospects, prices have struggled to hold above $52 a barrel on concern rising US output may offset Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led supply cuts. Members of the OPEC and its allies need to extend the deal past March for at least three months to support prices,
according to UBS Group AG.
“Risks are now to the downside for oil prices,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “A push below $50 could spark technical selling and West Texas could enter the old trading range of $47.50 to $49.50.”
West Texas Intermediate for November delivery slid as much as 51 cents to $49.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $50.14 in London. Total volume traded was about 37% below the 100-day average. Brent for December settlement dropped 21 cents, or 0.4%, to $55.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.33 to December WTI.
Nationwide crude stockpiles fell by 4.08mn barrels last week, the API said, according to reports. An Energy Information Administration report is forecast to show supplies slid by 500,000 barrels, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.