Baku– APA-ECONOMICS. Crude oil traded near $77 a barrel in New York and is poised for its second weekly decline in three on signs fuel demand is slowing in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer, Bloomberg reported.
Oil fell 3 percent yesterday to a four-week low after an Energy Department report showed crude inventories rose a more- than-expected 1.76 million barrels last week and U.S. refinery operating rates fell to the lowest in more than a year. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 1 million-barrel gain.
Crude oil for December delivery traded at $77.04 a barrel, up 10 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:14 a.m. in Sydney. Yesterday, the contract fell $2.34 to $76.94, the lowest settlement since Oct. 14. Futures, up 73 percent since the start of the year, have dropped 0.5 percent this week.
Brent crude for December settlement fell $1.93, or 2.5 percent, to end the session at $76.02 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday.
