Crude oil tumbled below $95 a barrel for the first time since February on concern that Europe’s debt crisis will deepen and on signals the U.S. economy is slowing, reducing fuel consumption.
Futures dropped 4.6 percent as European finance ministers struggled to break a deadlock on a second rescue plan for Greece, sending the euro and most commodities lower. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index slipped to the lowest level since November. An Energy Department report today showed U.S. fuel demand fell for the first time in five weeks.
“The Greek crisis is making people worry about further bank failures in Europe and cascading defaults hitting the economy and fuel demand,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “The demand numbers in today’s report were terrible, especially for industrial fuels.”
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