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By Leah McGrath Goodman
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures in New York gave up nearly $2
Wednesday, falling to more than an eight-week low after government data showed
U.S. petroleum inventories above the upper end of the average range for this
time of year.
Benchmark light, sweet crude oil futures for March fell $1.92 to settle at
$57.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking the lowest
front-month settlement since Dec. 19.
In London, Brent blend crude futures for April fell more than a dollar to
settle near $58 a barrel on ICE Futures, but final settlement prices weren't in
yet.
After four straight days of losses amounting to almost $5 a barrel, market
participants were forced to ask: Is the latest bull run in oil over?
While the inventory data released Wednesday points to the potential for a
supply glut, a number of market observers say a pullback in production at U.S.
refineries and simmering worries over oil-rich Iran's nuclear ambitions may
ultimately preserve the uptrend.
"This could still be a correction, but, if it is, it's a pretty significant
one," said Scott Meyers, senior trading analyst for Pioneer Futures Inc. in New
York. "You're looking at a big pullback now."
Brokers such as Tom Bentz, an energy broker for BNP Paribas in New York, said
they won't count the bull run as over until prices sink below $55 a barrel.
Unlike crude, refined-product futures were able to stem past sessions'
selling momentum, ending only marginally lower Wednesday.
Nymex gasoline futures for March fell 1 point to settle at $1.3848 a gallon,
but hover near a year low.
Nymex March heating oil futures, now priced at late-July levels, settled down
25 points at $1.6075 a gallon. On ICE Futures, March gasoil futures were up
$5.50 to $518.75 a metric ton.
Nymex natural gas futures for March dropped 4.8 cents to end at $7.066 a
million British thermal units, falling to June levels.
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