June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel and gasoline tumbled the most in two months on speculation that supplies of the motor fuel will climb as refineries bolster output and imports gain.
Gasoline inventories rose 3.39 million barrels to 205 million last week, the biggest increase since January, the Energy Department said on June 17. Total daily demand for fuels is 6 percent lower than a year ago. Crude prices advanced earlier as violence escalated in Nigeria and on speculation that fuel consumption will increase as the global recession eases.
“The demand numbers are just too weak to ignore,” said Rick Mueller, a director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. “The big gasoline build suggests that refiners are chasing a diminishing target.”
Crude oil for July delivery fell $1.82, or 2.6 percent, to $69.55 a barrel at 2:50 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since June 8. It was the biggest decline since June 3. Futures, which are up 56 percent this year, dropped 3.5 percent this week.
Gasoline for July delivery fell 10.51 cents, or 5.2 percent, to end the session at $1.9244 a gallon in New York, the lowest settlement since June 3 and the biggest decline since April 20. Futures fell 5.8 percent this week, the largest drop since February.
U.S. refineries produced 9.13 million barrels of gasoline a day in the week ended June 12, up 2 percent from the week before, according to the Energy Department. Refineries operated at 85.9 percent of capacity last week, up from 80.4 percent in the week ended April 10.
Gasoline imports jumped 25 percent to 1.09 million barrels a day last week, the highest since April, the department said. more...
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