WTI Crude Drops a Second Day on Rising Stockpiles, Fed Easing

Bloomberg, (20/6) -- West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly increased and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may start reducing bond purchases later this year.   U.S. crude inventories rose by 313,000 barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said yesterday. Supplies were forecast to decline by 500,000 barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The Fed may begin tapering bond purchases this year and end them in 2014 should the economy continue to improve, Bernanke said in Washington. WTI for July delivery, which expires today, dropped as much as 89 cents to $97.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 12 percent above the 100-day average. Prices decreased 20 cents to $98.24 yesterday. The more actively traded August contract was down 80 cents at $97.68 at 11:39 a.m. Sydney time. Brent for August settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange lost as much as 97 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $105.15 a barrel. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $7.58 to WTI futures, from $7.64 yesterday.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:22 AM