Oil traded near a two-day low in New York as investors speculated that fuel demand may falter amid rising U.S. crude stockpiles and delays in approving a bailout package for Greece.

Futures were little changed after falling 0.2 percent yesterday. U.S. inventories climbed 2.9 million barrels last week, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said after the settlement. An Energy Department report today is forecast to show a gain of 1.5 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. European Finance ministers canceled a meeting to agree on a second aid package for Greece, citing a lack of political assurances on an austerity pledge.

Oil for March delivery was at $100.90 a barrel, up 16 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:54 a.m. Sydney time. It slid 17 cents to $100.74 yesterday, the lowest close since Feb. 10. Prices are 20 percent higher the past year.

Brent oil for March settlement, which expired yesterday, climbed 23 cents to $118.16 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The more-actively traded April contract fell 4 cents to $117.35. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate closed at $17.42. It reached a record of $27.88 on Oct. 14.

Europe’s finance ministers will instead hold a teleconference today to prod Greece to do more to clinch an aid package worth 130 billion euros ($170 billion) along with about 100 billion euros of debt relief from private bondholders. Greece’s two biggest political parties will today provide the written commitments demanded, a government official in Athens said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Anderson at manderson34@bloomberg.net

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