Oil
dropped below $30 a barrel in New York before government data forecast
to show U.S. crude stockpiles expanded, exacerbating a global glut.
Gasoline tumbled to a seven-year low.
Crude
fell 5.5 percent, adding to Monday’s 6 percent slump. Supplies probably
rose by 4 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey
before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. The
Russian leg of Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino’s tour to
persuade oil exporters to cut output gained little more than pledges for
further discussion. BP Plc posted a 91 percent decreasein
fourth-quarter earnings, while Exxon Mobil Corp.’s fell 58 percent.
Oil
has lost 19 percent this year amid volatility in global markets,
brimming U.S. crude supplies and the outlook for increased exports from
Iran after the removal of international sanctions. Royal Dutch Shell Plc
had its debt rating cut to the lowest since Standard & Poor’s began
coverage in 1990. Chevron Corp. and Hess Corp. were among the U.S. oil
companies that had their rating trimmed by S&P Tuesday.
West
Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell $1.74 to settle at $29.88 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It’s the lowest close since
Jan. 21. The volume of all futures traded was 47 percent above the
100-day average.
Brent
for April settlement dropped $1.52, or 4.4 percent, to end the session
at $32.72 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The
European benchmark crude closed at an $1.11 premium to April WTI.
Source: Bloomberg
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