Crude falls sharply to fresh April lows, officially entering bear market

Commodities

 U.S. crude futures fell sharply on Thursday, officially entering bear market territory, as further signals of global oversupply dragged oil prices to levels not seen since a failed Doha summit in mid-April.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for September delivery traded between $41.05 and $42.22 a barrel before closing at $41.16, down 0.76 or 1.81% on the session. With the considerable losses, WTI closed lower for the fourth consecutive session and the eighth time in the last 10 trading days. At session-lows, the front month contract for U.S. crude tumbled to its lowest level since April 20. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for October delivery wavered between $43.15 and $44.14 a barrel, before settling at $43.24, down 0.67 or 1.53% on the day.

U.S. crude futures have now tumbled approximately 22% from their June highs around $53 a barrel.

On Thursday, oil prices showed little signs of reversing an extended downturn after recent data provided indications of rising stockpiles, swelling rig counts and a spike in production. A session earlier, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report that U.S. Commercial Crude inventories increased by 1.7 million barrels for the week ending on July 22. At 521.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at historically high levels for this time of year. Analysts expected to see a slight draw of 2.257 million barrels. Previously, U.S. crude stockpiles had moved lower for a period of nine consecutive weeks, offering some optimism for dormant shale producers hoping to return online.

Market players await Friday's weekly rig count from Baker Hughes for further signals on drilling activity nationwide. A week earlier, Baker Hughes said U.S. oil rigs rose by 14 to 371, increasing for the fourth consecutive week and the seventh time over the last two months. At the same time, the total number of oil and gas rigs increased by 15 to 462 for the period ending on July 22. In early-June the combined rig count posted its first weekly gain of the year, halting a drought of 41 consecutive weeks.

Earlier this spring, oil futures slipped below $40 a barrel after negotiations at a meeting of top producers in Qatar collapsed when Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran take part in any agreement to freeze output at January levels. The latest sell-off reinforced views that a five-month rally has come to a screeching halt. In February, WTI plunged to a 13-year low at $26.05 a barrel.

"We're going to rebound, the question is timing," analysts from Citigroup (NYSE:C) said on Thursday.

The latest declines came ahead of the release of quarterly results from Exxon MobilCorporation (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) in Friday's session. Exxon is expected to report earnings per share of 0.64 on revenue of $60.23 billion.

The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell to a near two-week low at 96.25 on Thursday before rallying slightly to 96.66 in U.S. afternoon trading (down 0.39%). Earlier this week, the index hit a four-month high at 97.62.

Dollar-denominated commodities such as Crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.

Source Investing.com