Bloomberg (23/10) -- West
Texas Intermediate fell to the lowest in more than three months as
crude stockpiles rose in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. The
grade’s discount to North Sea Brent was its biggest in six months.Futures
dropped as much as 2 percent in New York. Crude inventories increased
by 3 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said
yesterday. A government report today is projected to show supplies
climbed by the same amount, advancing for a fifth week, according to a
Bloomberg News survey. Oil stockpiles in China, the second-largest
consumer, gained last month to the highest level in official data today
going back to January 2010.WTI
for December delivery slid as much as $1.98 to $96.32 a barrel in
electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since
July 1. It was at $96.73 as of 1:43 p.m. London time. The November
contract expired yesterday down $1.42 at $97.80. The volume of all
futures traded was about 52 percent more than the 100-day average.Brent
for December settlement was down 16 cents at $109.81 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark was at a
premium of as much as $13.37 to WTI, the widest since April 2.
