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Oil falls on worry Fed will curb stimulus
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Crude oil prices dropped yesterday for the fifth straight session as traders showed concern that the Federal Reserve will roll back its monetary stimulus program.
The Labor Department said that the average number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level since November 2007, the month before the Great Recession began. But that added to speculation that the Federal Reserve would soon pull back on measures that have kept long-term interest rates at low levels.
The Fed's policies have sparked investment in riskier assets such as stocks and oil. But comments from Fed officials this week indicate the central bank may be ready to begin unwinding a program of buying US$85 billion in bonds each month as soon as September.
US benchmark crude fell 97 cents to close at US$103.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil fell as low as US$102.22 before paring its losses in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, fell 76 cents to US$106.68 a barrel.
Concern about the Fed overshadowed positive economic news from China. The country's exports and imports both increased last month, beating expectations and representing a strong recovery from June's slump. That suggested growth in the world's No. 2 economy might eventually pick up following months of sluggishness.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex:
— Heating oil fell 1 cent to US$2.92 a gallon.
— Natural gas rose 5 cents to US$3.30 per 1,000 cubic feet.
— Wholesale gasoline slipped 1 cent to US$2.86 a gallon.
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