(Repeats, justifies tabluar material)
* EIA: US crude stocks rise smaller than expected
* Cushing oil inventories hit another record
* Investors worry over tighter regulations in Europe
* Coming up: U.S. jobless claims due Thursday morning
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; new byline,
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices slid on
Wednesday for the seventh consecutive session in volatile trade
as Germany's moves to curb speculation roiled financial markets
and prompted a move to safer investments.
The losses came despite government data which showed U.S.
crude stockpiles rose much less than expected. Still,
inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for the
New York Mercantile Exchange hit another high. []
Analysts assessed the report as neutral.
Crude fell along with a broad array of commodities after
Germany banned naked shorts, or bearish wagers, on some
financial instruments and amid worries that the euro zone's
sovereign debt troubles would stunt economic growth.
By early afternoon, the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>,
a global commodities benchmark, was down 0.91 percent.
Weekly inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration showed crude stocks rose 200,000 barrels last
week, against a forecast in a Reuters poll for a 700,000 barrel
rise. []
Distillate stocks posted a surprise decline and gasoline
inventories dropped, but by a lower than forecast volume.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for June delivery traded down 44 cents at
$68.97 a barrel as of 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT). It fell as low
as $67.90, its lowest intraday level since Sept. 30, 2009.
Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 98 cents to $73.45.
At the day's low, the U.S. crude contract dropped more than
22 percent from the $87.15 a barrel 19-month high reached on
May 3. Further pressure came ahead of the expiry of the June on
Thursday. At the start of the day, there were 70,231 open
interests on the contract.
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For a graphic on WTI open interest pre-expiry please click
on: http://link.reuters.com/sug34k
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Technical analysts said U.S. crude's next support level is
around $66 a barrel. []
On Wall Street, all major stock indexes were down more than
1 percent after Germany's decision to stem some speculative
trades. []
"Crude futures are chopping around and traders have
dismissed the EIA report. Instead, the market is watching the
international financial markets for direction," said Tom
Knight, trader at Truman Arnold, in Texarkana, Texas.
The euro rallied strongly across the board on Wednesday
after traders bought it on a raft of rumors suggesting official
actions could make the currency move attractive. []
Earlier, a German announcement of a ban on naket short
sales of some financial instruments fed uncertainty about the
euro zone, lifting the U.S. dollar and yen. []
Oil is below the $70 to $80 level many members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have said
they prefer, but OPEC officials have stopped short of calling
for any immediate steps to prop up the market.
"Prices are not related to supply and demand. They are
related to the world economy. There is no role for OPEC at this
stage," said Algeria's oil minister, Chakib Khelil.
He added prices were likely to rebound once the Eurozone
rescue package started to take effect.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a technical chart, see:
http://link.reuters.com/ret25k
For a chart on oil/dollar correlation returns with Europe
risk, click:
http://link.reuters.com/set25k
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(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Alex
Lawler in London and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by
David Gregorio)
