Bloomberg Crude Oil Little Changed as U.S. Equities Fall, Dollar Rebounds

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed as U.S. equities dropped and the dollar rebounded, reducing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment.

Oil retreated from an advance of 3 percent, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell and the dollar strengthened from its weakest level against the euro since May 21. U.S. industrial production figures signaled that the manufacturing slump remains broad-based.

“We started the day out with the idea that we’d have both a weaker dollar and a higher equity market, and now the equity market doesn’t look as robust as it did this morning,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst with Citi Futures Perspective in New York.

Crude oil for July delivery fell 15 cents to settle at $70.47 a barrel at 2:42 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it rose as high as $72.77. Last week, oil touched a seven-month high of $73.23 a barrel. It has risen 58 percent this year.

Prices dropped in electronic trading after the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude-oil supplies lost 1.26 million barrels, or 0.4 percent, to 356.6 million barrels, a seventh consecutive weekly decline. Futures were down 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $70.37 a barrel at 4:32 p.m.

Earlier, oil increased for the first time in three days as the dollar dropped against most of its major counterparts after leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China considered reducing their dependence on the currency. Gasoline rose above $2.11 a gallon for the first time since Oct. 7. more...