Crude oil fell in New York for a fourth day, the longest losing stretch in nine weeks, on rising U.S. stockpiles and speculation China will increase interest rates to curb inflation. Oil dropped 0.5 percent after the Energy Department said that U.S. crude and fuel supplies rose last week. Prices climbed earlier as German business confidence unexpectedly climbed to a record in January amid booming exports to Asia and French business confidence surged. “There were a lot of people betting on $100 oil, but it looks like they were a little optimistic,” said Kyle Cooper, director of research for IAF Advisors in Houston. “Oil at $90 is actually looking a little high, given that inventories are in pretty good shape and demand isn’t that great.” Crude for March delivery slipped 48 cents to settle at $89.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell as much as 72 cents to $88.87 earlier. Futures are up 17 percent from a year ago. The March contract in New York declined 3.7 percent this week. The February contract expired yesterday after dropping 2.2 percent to $88.86, the lowest settlement since Jan. 7. U.S. crude-oil stockpiles increased 2.62 million barrels to 335.7 million last week, an Energy Department report showed yesterday. Gasoline inventories climbed 4.44 million barrels to 227.7 million, the highest level since the week ended March 5. Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, gained 1.04 million barrels to 165.8 million. “There is a lot of supply in the marketplace,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. “We’re actually moving on the fundamentals.” Fuel Demand U.S. fuel consumption increased at the fastest pace in six years last year, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Total deliveries of petroleum products, a measure of demand, rose 2.3 percent to 19.2 million barrels a day, the industry- funded group said today. Demand peaked at 20.8 million barrels a day in 2005, according to the Energy Department. China, the world’s biggest energy-consuming country, said yesterday that inflation was 4.6 percent in December. China raised interest rates twice in 2010 and increased bank-reserve requirements on Jan. 14. Brent crude oil for March settlement climbed $1.02, or 1.1 percent, to end the session at $97.60 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent traded at a $8.49 premium to the Nymex contract, the highest since February 2009. Brent Advantages “A lot of the financial players are moving into Brent because it’s easier to move around and doesn’t suffer the constraints at Cushing,” said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston. “The CME will have to do something to save the benchmark.” Cushing, Oklahoma, located in the central U.S., is the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, the grade traded in New York. Supplies at the hub, which fell 571,000 barrels to 36.8 million last week, are 9.1 percent higher than a year ago. Nymex is a division of CME Group Inc. “WTI has really become fundamentally detached from the global market,” said Rick Mueller, director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. “These high Cushing stock levels are proving more distorting than expected.” Twenty-three of 40 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg, or 58 percent, forecast crude will decline through Jan. 28. Ten respondents, or 25 percent, predicted prices will climb and seven estimated little change. Last week, 43 percent said futures would retreat. ‘Pare Risk’ JPMorgan said oil investors should “pare risk and take some profits” on prospects the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may increase production. OPEC pumps 40 percent of the world’s crude. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 110.3 from 109.8 in December. That’s the highest since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991. An index of sentiment among French factory managers rose more than expected to 108 from a revised 102 in December, Insee, the Paris-based national statistics office, said today. Oil volume on the Nymex was 601,272 contracts as of 3:14 p.m. in electronic trading in New York. Volume totaled 955,526 contracts yesterday, 47 percent above the average of the past three months. Open interest was 1.49 million contracts. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net

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