Oil Falls Below $100 on Concern U.S. Slowdown May Limit Demand

Crude oil fell below $100 a barrel in New York on growing concern a U.S. economic slowdown will hurt commodity demand.

Oil has fallen 11 percent from a record this week, tracking declines in gold, wheat and metals, as the dollar strengthened, reducing the need for hedges against inflation. U.S. gasoline demand in the past four weeks averaged 3.2 percent less than last year, the Energy Department said yesterday.
“Investors have taken money from the capital markets and bought oil futures, but there’s nothing changed in the fundamentals to make oil worth $100,” said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at BayernLB in Munich. “Now these investors may think it’s time to get out.”

Crude oil for May delivery fell as much as $2.95, or 2.9 percent, to $99.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $100.41 at 11:43 a.m. London time. Oil is up 77 percent from a year ago.

Bloomberg