Futures dropped as much as 0.9 percent in New York after closing at a one-month low yesterday. Crude stockpiles expanded by 2.63 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institutesaid. An Energy Information Administration report today may show supplies climbed by 2 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. China’s exports slumped the most since 2009 last month, stoking speculation that the country may not meet its economic growth target.

“Oil is caught up in the general concern that is emanating from China,” said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “Increasing inventories last night didn’t help. If West Texas does develop downward momentum from here, the next support is at about $95.”

WTI for April delivery declined as much as 85 cents to $99.18 a barrel in electronic trading on theNew York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $99.31 at 4:40 p.m. Seoul time. The contract slid $1.09 to $100.03 yesterday, the lowest settlement since Feb. 11. The volume of all futures traded was about 14 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent for April settlement decreased as much as 57 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $107.98 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $8.78 to WTI. The spread closed at $8.52 yesterday, the widest since Feb. 17.

Economic Growth

WTI snapped a seven-week rally last week amid speculation a reduced seasonal pace of hiring in the U.S. signaled fuel demand will shrink. China on March 8 posted an 18.1 percent drop in exports, the most since August 2009, bolstering concern of a global economic slowdown.

The Asian nation will account for about 11 percent of world oil consumption in 2014, compared with 21 percent for the U.S., forecasts from the International Energy Agency in Paris show. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last week announced an economic growth target of 7.5 percent, the weakest since 1990.

WTI is extending losses after settling below its middle Bollinger Band yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Futures declined to the lower Band after a similar breach of technical support in early January. This indicator is at about $96.30 a barrel today. Investors typically sell contracts when chart-support levels fail.

Oil Supplies

In the U.S., crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the nation’s largest oil-storage hub and the delivery point for WTI contracts, shrank by 1.31 million barrels in the week ended March 7, the API reported yesterday.

Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, fell by 839,000 barrels, said the industry group in Washington. Supplies probably declined by 450,000 barrels, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in the Bloomberg survey.

Gasoline stockpiles dropped by 2.15 million barrels last week, the API data show, compared with a 2 million decrease projected in the survey.

The API collects supply information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the EIA for its weekly survey, which is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.

WTI may average $95.33 a barrel this year, the EIA said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook yesterday. That’s up from February’s prediction of $93.22. U.S. crude production is estimated at 8.39 million barrels a day, down from 8.42 million.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne atbsharples@bloomberg.net; Heesu Lee in Seoul at hlee425@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan atpnarayanan9@bloomberg.net Yee Kai Pin

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-11/wti-oil-declines-for-a-third-day-as-u-s-crude-stockpiles-rise.html

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