US crude futures slide on downside momentum

HOUSTON (ICIS)–NYMEX WTI crude futures for December delivery sold down sharply in the last minutes of trade on Thursday to settle at $45.20/bbl, down $1.12, as the market continues to search for a bottom.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) extended the previous session’s losses in response to the supply statistics from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that showed a build in crude oil inventories for the sixth consecutive week.

The selling also discounted Wednesday’s much greater than expected drawdown in gasoline and distillate inventories and a crude drawdown at the NYMEX delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.

A slide in Wall Street and a strong dollar, which normally have a negative impact on commodities, also pressured the energy complex.

WTI, the US benchmark, established an intra-day low of $45.12/bbl, down $1.20, before attempting to rebound.

The December-January spread, which is in contango, widened over $1.00/bbl, validating the sentiment of an oversupplied market in the front month and the potential for storing.

December ICE Brent bottomed out at $47.93/bbl before settling at $49.58/bbl, down $1.96.