From Bloomberg
Total petroleum stockpiles rise by 22 million barrels: EIA, Global benchmark falls as low as $59.45 amid market ‘meltdown’
Brent crude futures tumbled below $60 a barrel after a report showed U.S. crude and fuel inventories ballooning by the most in a generation, feeding fears of a growing oversupply even as trade disputes threaten demand.
London-traded futures fell to $59.45, the lowest since January, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said America’s total petroleum stockpiles grew by about 22 million barrels last week, the biggest jump in data going back to 1990. U.S. drillers also pumped out a record 12.4 million barrels a day.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a real meltdown in the prices today,’’ Matt Sallee, a portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC said in a telephone interview. ‘‘Until something changes the mood, which maybe would be a breakthrough in trade, I don’t see any reason crude is going to improve over the next week.’’
Brent for August settlement dropped $2.24 to $59.73 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 11:53 a.m. in New York. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July fell $2.61, or 4.9%, to $50.87.
